Wheat remained steady in price this week. French wheat for December closed Friday up at €202/t. On Tuesday, it closed at €201/t.

Maize was also fairly stable and oilseed rape dropped, but recovered slightly.

The November French oilseed rape price closed at €465.50/t on Friday, down €5/t in the week. On Tuesday, it closed at €467.25/t.

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Wheat, corn and soybean prices went up in the US last week, while corn and soybeans dropped about 5c/bu on Tuesday.

This week, Agritel reported that there are logistics difficulties in the Black Sea during the winter period. Strong competition is feared once spring weather arrives.

Soybean prices improved in the US this week with the potential for more trade with China.

However, with the soybean harvest under way in Brazil, this will be something that markets watch closely. Rain in South America could impact on this.

However, that rain would be welcome, according to the AHDB, to maize crops in Argentina.

However, in Brazil, Conab has reduced its forecast for the second maize crop by 1.2m tonnes to 109.26m, based on a lower planted area. If rain delays the soybean harvest, this will likely affect planting.

Malting barley

Merchants which supply Boortmalt came out with fixed price offers this week – see more on page 8.

Reports of a price of €225/t make it €35/t to €40/t ahead of this week’s market prices. It’s available on 20% of the contracted tonnage.

Details will vary across merchants, but growers should make sure they know their tonnage for the season ahead.

The fixed price is not subject to the €10/t charge which applies to the harvest price. Growers should note that there is no distilling barley this year, so the €10/t bonus will not apply.

Harvest offers

Quinns of Baltinglass offered farmers forward prices of €180/t for green feed barley for harvest 2026 and €185/t for green feed wheat and €445/t for green oilseed rape this week.

These are on a par with other prices with the exception of wheat, which has seen a decline in prices in recent weeks.

Oilseed rape prices are steady, but there are reports of a higher planted area in France this season.

The drop in wheat is a reflection of the market. Looking at spot prices at present and there is little movement.

Barley continues to trade around €215/t (dried) and wheat (dried) is reported level with or below this price. Maize imports are on the way up, now reported at €225/t to €230/t.