Size of US maize crop dictates EU grain price

THE size of the American maize crop and world weather patterns will dictate EU grain prices in 2003, a British economist told the Teagasc national tillage conference in Carlow yesterday.

Dr Gerald Mason, of Home Grown Cereals Authority (HGCA), suggested that with low world wheat and feed grain stocks, the size of this year’s crop will have a large bearing on grain prices. This in turn will be dependent on the weather in the major grain producing areas of the US, Canada, Australia and the EU.

He said the size of the US maize crop, the single biggest grain crop in the world, covering 48 times the combined Irish wheat and barley area, will also be a critical determinant of feed grain prices. “If poor weather reduces the expected world grain output of 597 million tonnes, then grain prices could rise above their current levels. Irish farmers should see grain prices rise by up to €10 per tonne,” said Dr Mason.