EU Grains Closing Report W/e 10 March
The day ended with Mar 17 London wheat up GBP1.05/tonne at GBP146.65/tonne, Mar 17 Paris wheat was down EUR4.25/tonne at EUR167.75/tonne, Jun 17 Paris corn was EUR1.50/tonne lower at EUR172.50/tonne and May 17 Paris rapeseed fell EUR2.75/tonne to EUR402.25/tonne.
For the week that places nearby London wheat GBP1.10/tonne higher, with Paris wheat down EUR6.25/tonne, corn EUR4.25/tonne firmer and rapeseed down EUR6.50/tonne.
A weaker sterling this week has supported London wheat, in addition to tightness in old crop supply.
"The vast majority of GB arable crops have come into the spring in good condition, according to the latest ADAS crop report. The relatively dry and mild conditions during the autumn and winter allowed pesticide applications to be made as planned and there are few weed, pest or disease issues to report at this stage in the season," said the HGCA.
They did however report a drop in overall winter plantings, including an English and Welsh wheat area decline of 5% to 1.612 million ha, along with a 2% fall in barley sowings and a 1% decrease in the area given over to winter OSR (to 538k ha).
Many pundits say that the actual sown area is even lower, especially for OSR where Origin Enterprises this week came up with a figure of only 500,000 ha for the UK as a whole, "a reduction of approximately 10% on last year," they said.
"Farmers have been deterred from sowing the oilseed by heavy losses in many areas to cabbage stem flea beetle, following the introduction of EU curbs on neonicotinoid insecticides," reported Agrimoney.
In other news, Brussels reported 235 TMT of soft wheat exports this past week, taking the season to date total to 16.5 MMT, down 13% on 19.05 MMT this time last year.
Cumulative EU barley exports so far this season stand at 3.2 MMT, down 59% from a year ago, whilst cumulative EU corn imports of 7.4 MMT are down 24%.
On the international stage, we can report a 720,000 MT hard wheat tender from Saudi Arabia.