| Arable
Weak pound strengthens cereals exports
Weakness in the Sterling since the start of 2016 has supported a boom in cereals exports, says the Agriculture and
Horticulture Development Board (AHDB).
K grains have been amongst
the most competitively priced in
the world this season,
generating strong demand from
both inside the EU and further
afield.
Season-to-date (July – April) barley exports
are 35 per cent ahead of the same point last
year at 1.76Mt. Forecasts suggest the pace is
set to continue with exports hitting 1.9Mt by the
end of the season – a 19 year high.
For wheat, season-to-date exports are nearly
30 per cent ahead of the same point in 2014/15
at 2.23Mt, a level not reached since 2011/12.
Dr Martin Grantley-Smith, AHDB Strategy
Director for Cereals & Oilseeds, said: “We are
gathering information on destinations for UK
cereals and where we see newcomers to the
market or changes in demand, we will be
following up to secure trade on a longer-term
basis.
“Although currency is always a driving factor
in the global marketplace, we have excellent
messages about the quality and traceability of
cereals grown in the UK which stand us in good
stead to develop strategic relationships with
U
overseas buyers who are less familiar with our
products.”
Significantly increased requirements year-onyear have been seen in the traditional EU
exports markets of France, Spain, Portugal and
the Netherlands on the back of the pound
slipping in value against the euro, making UK
grain more competitive.
Dr Grantley-Smith added: “We are seeing
unprecedented levels of exports at the moment,
driven by stock carry over, competitive pricing
and the weakened currency. While we’d usually
be expecting exports to dry up by this time of
year as old crop runs out, we envisage that
exports will remain strong so long as UK grain
remains competitively priced at an EU and
global level.
“Even depressed markets are underpinned
by exports and the strong pace of grain leaving
the UK provides some bolster for a domestic
market dominated by oversupply.”
Ongoing investment in port capacity at the
Port of Tilbury and Peel Ports has also seen
additional shipments leaving UK shores.
Frontier recently announced a 55,000t
shipment of UK wheat had left Tilbury on a bulk
vessel bound for Indonesia. Meanwhile,
Glencore Grain saw the first ever shipment from
Peel Ports’ new grain loading facility at
Sheerness, which left for Ireland at the
beginning of June with 4,400t of wheat.
Paul Temple, AHDB Cereals & Oilseeds
Chair, said: “It is great news that the industry is
collaborating and investing in new, bigger and
better grain storage and loading facilities. We
are seeing more bulk carriers leave the UK with
loads of more than 50,000t than we ever have
in the past. This gives growers access to
markets both on the doorstep and more far
flung corners of the globe.
“It is a reminder that we truly operate in a
global market and new opportunities can open
up, even in difficult times,” he added.
AHDB Market Intelligence analysts say
currency volatility will continue to be a key
watch factor for UK cereals and oilseeds
markets. For more on AHDB Cereals &
Oilseeds work with overseas buyers and
information on growing for export, visit
cereals.ahdb.org.uk/exports
UK farmers benefit from Trade Prosperity shipment
The UK’s biggest single shipment of grain is now loading at the Port of Immingham on the east coast, which is set to
move 70,000 tonnes of feed wheat from UK growers across Yorkshire and Lincolnshire, to Vietnam in Asia Pacific.
ith the trade fulfilled by
Glencore Grain UK, it will have
taken the crop yield from some
18,000 acres (7333 ha) and
transported by over 2500 lorry
loads to complete loading of
the 229 metre vessel, mv Trade Prosperity.
When she sets sail in early July, the journey
should take Trade Prosperity around 34 days to
cover the 12,370 nautical miles to Vietnam, via
the Cape of Good Hope, at an average speed
of 15 knots.
Announcing the start of loading, Glencore
Grain UK Managing Director, James Maw, said:
“The scale of this record-breaking export
exemplifies the importance of access to world
W
14 | Farming Monthly | July 2016
trade for UK growers.
“It highlights the essential role of contacts
and experience offered by the global Glencore
Agricultural products division in successfully
negotiating the business half-way around the
world, and then the immense logistics of
physically delivering the supply of grain from
UK farms.”
Glencore farm trader for Yorkshire and South
Humberside, Julian Dunning, added: “After the
huge harvest of 2015 it has been imperative to
move large stocks of grain, before the new crop
comes in this summer. This trade will have had
a significant impact in underpinning all
important crop values for the new season.”
He reported that with the vast scale of this
shipment, the company have had to work with
a large numbers of farmers to co-ordinate and
move the required volume of wheat. “We are
fortunate to have so many extremely
professional growers who understand the
demands and have helped to achieve the
loading, along with an excellent port facility at
Immingham, operated by ABP, with the
capability to manage such an immense
shipment.”
Hitherto, the biggest single shipment of grain
from the UK is believed to have been 66,000
tonnes, with most port capabilities limited to
around 50,000 tonnes by loading facilities and
deep water access.
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