Grain Trends: rapeseed takes a jump

European, UK and US grain prices fell last week, but began to recover this week. Rapeseed prices were on a different path and saw the biggest gains.

The French wheat price for March fell by €9.50/t last week to €221.75/t on Friday 29 November. On Wednesday afternoon, it was at €224/t.

The US wheat price for March fell 16.75c/bu last week and was at 546c/bu on Tuesday evening 3 December. In the UK, the London wheat price for May dropped £7.40/t last week to £186.05/t and was £185.20/t on Wednesday afternoon.

Reuters reported this week that Ukraine has introduced a new system for exporting some goods including grains. The development means there will be a ban on shipping goods below prices set by the agriculture ministry.

In Brazil, it was reported that 59% of the first corn crop was planted by 24 November. There are a number of different production estimates at present.

UK supplies

The Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB) in the UK has reported that UK cereal supplies are expected to be tight this year.

The AHDB stated that “the drop in supply of total cereals for harvest 2024 outweighs the decline in domestic consumption”.

The AHDB said that the amount of grain available for either export or free stock is estimated well below the five-year average, at 3.04 Mt.

Cereal production in the UK is reported to have fallen 11% year on year. Britain and Northern Ireland export a large amount of grain to Ireland.

Oilseed rape

The French oilseed rape price for February closed last week at €507.75/t. By Tuesday evening 3 December that price had jumped by €20/t to €527.25/t. On Wednesday afternoon, it was down to €521.50/t.

Australian rapeseed production was estimated down by 8% to 5.6m tonnes. European oilseed rape production was estimated up 12% in 2025 by Stratégie Grains.

Native prices

Spot prices for dried barley are reported at around €225/t, while dried wheat is at €240/t to €245/t. These prices are up slightly on last week.

There is reported to be more sellers in the market than recent weeks.

Maize coming into the country is reported to be at €230/t and soya at approximately €390/t.

At home, Dairygold offered suppliers prices of €200/t for green feed wheat, €195/t for green feed barley and €435/t for green oilseed rape. Dried wheat and barley are €30/t over those prices.

In Northern Ireland, spot barley was reported at £193/t and spot wheat was reported at £207/t by the AHDB.