April 17, 2007

High grain prices affect farmers in Ireland

An Irish importer said more contracts and re-evaluation of products would be needed to safeguard the Irish feed industry in the wake of the rising grain prices.

David Hickey of R and H Hall, Ireland's biggest importer of supplier of animal feed ingredients, said prices for most ingredients have increased significantly in the past year, due to global market swings. Prices for import into Ireland have gone up 46 percent for corn gluten, 65 percent for palm kernel, 33 percent for US corn distillers, 43 percent for citrus, 41 percent for EU rapeseed, 10.4 percent for soybean, 28 percent for barley and 24 percent for wheat.

However, the high prices of grains won't be bad for livestock farmers in Ireland, according to one of Ireland's top tillage farmers, Jim McCarthy.

He agreed that the consumption of wheat is going to rocket in the coming years, taking grain prices to new highs. However, the gains that Irish farmers get from a grain boom will be limited, because land prices are far too high and "commercial agriculture is frowned upon in the European Union."