Glanbia Grain Prices for 2018

Ireland’s largest buyer and user of native Irish grains, Glanbia Ireland, has confirmed its prices for harvest 2018 deliveries.

Green barley and wheat delivered by Members to Glanbia Ireland drying locations during harvest 2018 will be paid a total of €205 per tonne. This price includes an extra €2 per tonne Co-op bonus to all Members, which was approved by the Co-op Board today. This is in addition to the 2018 Glanbia Co-op Grain Trading Bonus Scheme under which Members can achieve a bonus of up to €10 per tonne based on their level of qualifying inputs purchased.

The 2018 green barley price for Glanbia Co-op Members of €205 compares to €147 per tonne paid to Members for the 2017 harvest.

Glanbia Chairman Martin Keane said: “We are pleased that harvest prices for 2018 are the highest in six years, and quality was generally very good across all crops. However, the challenging weather resulted in winter crops generally yielding between 0.3 and 0.8 tonnes per acre below the five-year average. Spring yields were down by 1.0 to 1.5 tonnes per acre on the five-year average. Glanbia farmers managed to fill all of our premium contracts, which account for over 40% of the total intake.”

As announced in October 2017, all Glanbia Ireland prices quoted this harvest are inclusive of a €3 per tonne allowance for delivery to a drying location. Higher allowances are paid for growers located greater than 15kms from those relevant intakes.

Martin Keane thanked growers for adjusting to the new grain intake structure. “At harvest 2018, a significantly higher proportion of grain was sent directly to a drying location. This removes inefficiencies from the system and enhances the quality of our products, which should help us maximise market returns.”

Premium contracts

The Glanbia grain strategy for a number of years has been to move as much grain as possible out of commodity markets and into premium niche categories.

Martin Keane said: “Over 40% of our total grain intake now attracts a market premium above the base price. These premiums deliver significant benefits to our growers and we understand that Glanbia has a higher proportion of its grain in premium contracts than other grain purchasers in the country.”

“For example, across all contracts, the weighted average price paid for barley to Glanbia Co-op members this harvest is €225 per tonne (including transport allowance, premiums and Trading Bonus).”

Table 1: Glanbia Ireland prices* for 2018 harvest crops

Notes:

*All 2018 prices quoted include a standard transport allowance of €3 per tonne, with higher allowances paid for growers located greater than 15kms from the relevant drying locations.

**Inclusive of €2 per tonne of Co-op Support for grain supplied, plus a €10 per tonne 2018 Grain Trading Bonus. As previously announced, Co-op Members are eligible for the 2018 Grain Trading Bonus, which pays up to €10 per tonne where purchases of qualifying inputs from Glanbia exceed €60 of per tonne of grain supplied.

Price quoted exclude VAT.

First Published 24 September 2018