Fears that the wet winter would be disastrous for farmers have subsided and the outlook for this year’s crops is now surprisingly positive.
While the heavy rain in January and February caused flooding in many parts of the country, the weather remained mild, so crops planted in the autumn continued to grow.
Then, in March, the drier and warmer weather allowed the soil to recover in time for spring plantings and crops already in the ground enjoyed a healthy growth spurt.
The asparagus harvest has come early and potatoes, root veg and brassicas are all ahead of where they would normally be, according to the National Farmers’ Union.
A spokesman said potato and root veg packers were expecting fewer imports, and exports of sprouts to Holland and Germany had risen significantly, partly also because UK consumers were eating less because of the warm weather.
The UK’s most important crop - wheat - is also looking good. Plantings went well last autumn - up 22% to almost two million hectares - and the wet winter has done little damage.
“Crops have recovered well from the saturated soils over winter,” said cereals group HGCA, at the end of last week. “Many crops are more advanced than normal with over 30% of the area at stem extension compared with typically about 10% at the end of March.”
The mild weather had caused brown and yellow rust to develop in some varieties, but it said this was easily treatable with fungicides. The same applies to winter barley.
Meanwhile, the planting of spring barley and oats was progressing well, the HGCA said.
And according to the NFU, fruits, which need cold to wake them out of their seasonal dormancy, were exposed to just enough winter chill for the outlook for this year to be good.
Arabica coffee prices still soaring
Coffee is still dominating the top of our table, amid ongoing concerns about hot and dry weather in Brazil. Arabica has risen by a further 24% over the past month and is now up 23.6% year on year, with Robusta up 11.3% month on month and 10.8% year on year.
Meanwhile, coconut oil prices in the EU have risen because of reduced availability of copra - the kernel of the coconut, used to extract coconut oil. Prices are currently up 3.1% month on month and 53.3% on a year-on-year basis.
At the other end of our table, copper prices continue to ease month on month, as there are concerns about Chinese demand dropping off. Prices are now down 6.4% month on month and 21.1% below the levels seen this time a year ago.
(Julia Glotz)
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