Grain and oilseed prices fall as UK feed wheat futures lose £11.25/t
Grain and oilseed prices have been under pressure in recent days, according to the UK's Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB). UK feed wheat futures slid to £193.75/t over the week.
The Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB), the UK levy body serving the farming sector, reports that grain and oilseed prices have come under pressure in recent days. UK feed wheat futures followed the global market lower: the November 2026 contract closed on Friday, 23 October, at £193.75 per tonne, down £11.25 on the previous week.
Global markets decline
Grain markets worldwide fell over the week. Prices were weighed down by better global supply prospects and harvest progress in the United States, which outweighed support from continued disruption in the Black Sea and firm crude oil prices. Hopes that Russia–Ukraine peace talks may develop also weighed on the market.
Nearby Chicago wheat futures dropped 6.5%, Chicago maize fell 3.9%, and Paris milling wheat futures declined 4.0%. The market continues to unwind the US weather risk premium: dry conditions in Nebraska, Kansas and Oklahoma supported field work last week and allowed winter wheat planting. Broadly favourable weather in the US midwest has also helped the maize harvest advance, securing supplies of part of the 2026 crop. Prices are under pressure in anticipation of this large crop reaching the market.
Forecasts point to dry weather across the US for the next three days and only light rain over the coming week, so harvest and planting look set to progress well into next week, which could add further downward pressure.
Meanwhile, the Rosario Stock Exchange in Argentina has raised its estimate for the country's 2026/2027 wheat harvest to 23.8 million tonnes from 21.0 million last month, citing higher-than-expected yields. That would be Argentina's second-largest crop on record, with harvest beginning in November.
Black Sea
Russia is reported to have developed high-volume export routes outside the Azov–Black Sea basin, mainly via the Baltic Sea, which is expected to handle around 65% of its wheat shipments in October. As a result, the analytics firm Sovecon has lifted its forecast for Russia's October wheat exports to 2.8 million tonnes, from 2.5 million a week earlier.
Ukraine is also trying to move more grain overland, asking Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Hungary to raise transit capacity. The conflict is still ongoing, and grain markets continue to watch developments in the Black Sea region.
