This summer’s wheat crop is expected to be down by nearly 40 percent on last year, according to the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board.
The AHDB predicts a UK wheat yield of around 10 million tonnes, compared with more than 16 million tonnes in 2019. As reported in the trade press, nabim produced briefing notes on the current situation in June and July to inform all parts of the chain.
In May, the government published its planned tariff regime to apply from 1 January 2021 – and if there is no agreement on trade with thE EU, this could mean the application of a tariff of £79 per tonne on European wheat.
nabim was immediately in touch with officials pointing out the risk to wheat costs, especially with a small UK crop in prospect; and earlier in July we wrote to ministers asking for a change to the tariff regime to enable the tariff-free import of higher protein wheat (equivalent to UK group 1 specification).
In our submission, we identified the uncertainty is already having an impact on markets and contingency planning.
