Grain growers seek talks after steep drop in price offers
IFA grain committee chairman Colum McDonnell said malting barley growers have significant cost increases of more than €30 per tonne and the price offered has been cut by €40 compared to last year.
Meanwhile, growers have been struggling through a weather-disrupted harvest. Some crops were devastated by last week’s downpours in Munster.
Across the EU, huge grain yields in Russia and Ukraine, reported to be more than 25% up on last year, are depressing the outlook for grain prices. And a commodity sell-off in international money markets is also removing the influence of the speculators partly blamed for lifting world grain prices.
Just as in Ireland, continued rain in many EU countries is causing harvest worries, and quality issues are emerging. As the grain market take shape, this week’s slump in European milling wheat futures to their lowest level since the end of November was not encouraging.
Rapeseed futures also fell to an eight-month low.
EU feed grain markets are under pressure also from an increased feed wheat crop, buoyed up by supply from eastern Europe.
Wheat crops are predicted to rise 19% in the EU and 16% in the Ukraine and Russia this year.
