Germany's animal feed industry is likely to achieve stable production in 2013 and the sector expects a large European harvest this summer to push grain prices down, Heinz Daske, head of the north-east German section of German feed industry association DVT (Deutscher Verband Tiernahrung e.V.) said.
Feed makers are concerned about delayed exports of new crop soybeans from Brazil in recent weeks but still expect soybean prices to fall when large new harvests from Brazil and Argentina finally enter global markets in coming weeks, said Daske, who is also chief executive of leading Hamburg-based compound feed producer Hamburger Leistungsfutter. Exports of new crop soybeans from South America remain slow largely because of inland logistics bottlenecks and port congestion in Brazil.
Germany's feed industry is currently generally only buying feed grain supplies for nearby delivery dates on belief prices will fall as big harvests in 2013 are likely, he said.
Germany and much of west Europe suffered a very long winter this year with frosts and cold weather well into the normal spring period which hindered crop growth. The German Farm Cooperatives Association forecasts Germany's 2013 grain crop of all types at 44.39 mill. t against 45.17 mill. t harvested in 2012 and 45.22 mill. t forecast in March before the extended cold snap.
The industry did also not currently see a need to import feed wheat from the United States, which currently offers the cheapest global wheat prices.
German feed producers are also expecting overall stable demand from livestock farmers. Sales of feed for poultry and beef production are expected to rise in 2013 and compensate for expected lower sales of pigfeed.
Feed makers are concerned about delayed exports of new crop soybeans from Brazil in recent weeks but still expect soybean prices to fall when large new harvests from Brazil and Argentina finally enter global markets in coming weeks, said Daske, who is also chief executive of leading Hamburg-based compound feed producer Hamburger Leistungsfutter. Exports of new crop soybeans from South America remain slow largely because of inland logistics bottlenecks and port congestion in Brazil.
Germany's feed industry is currently generally only buying feed grain supplies for nearby delivery dates on belief prices will fall as big harvests in 2013 are likely, he said.
Germany and much of west Europe suffered a very long winter this year with frosts and cold weather well into the normal spring period which hindered crop growth. The German Farm Cooperatives Association forecasts Germany's 2013 grain crop of all types at 44.39 mill. t against 45.17 mill. t harvested in 2012 and 45.22 mill. t forecast in March before the extended cold snap.
The industry did also not currently see a need to import feed wheat from the United States, which currently offers the cheapest global wheat prices.
German feed producers are also expecting overall stable demand from livestock farmers. Sales of feed for poultry and beef production are expected to rise in 2013 and compensate for expected lower sales of pigfeed.
Source: Deutscher Verband Tiernahrung e.V.