The latest episode of KW Feedcast gives you an overview of the soya, wheat and mid-proteins markets as we move towards Christmas. Brought to you once again by KW raw material expert Chris Davidson.

The soya market, which has been relatively static recently, has started to rise over the last few weeks. Partly this is due to an unexpected decrease in yields announcement from the USDA, unsubstantiated talk of China re-entering the market and increased internal demand. 

The South American crop is performing well, with Brazil expected to start an early harvest and beans landing as soon as February in the UK. While this could lower prices, the supply chain issues and tight shipping program can easily lead to higher prices first, as we are seeing now. The most important thing to remember is not to be too exposed.

The grains market continues to rally with the internal US demand for ethanol continuing to push maize prices up. This has flown through to the wheat market, where global stocks remain very tight. Russia are continuing to threaten higher export taxes, Australia is seeing unseasonable rain which is pushing contracts higher and may affect quality and while Argentina seems ok at the moment, the latest election results may result in increased export taxes. Closer to home don’t forget the fertilizer prices and the knock on effect this may have on planting. At the moment it feels that this market could go higher more readily than lower.

Mid-proteins are in a similar boat, rape seed availability is still driving costs higher, and EU seed prices have hit an all-time high. UK rapemeal is cheaper in the South than the North, and ultimately transports further than usual, however logistics remain tough and haulage costs are high.

Vivergo looks set to restart in February and while not confirmed, this could give some well needed relief, filling the gaps in the medium term. Until then Ensus distillers are competitive but there is limited availability.

Summing up, soya remains the best value protein in the short term but it remains a tough market out there. The biggest challenge is getting feed to farm with lead times getting longer and getting haulage harder and harder.