Blue skies and a ray of sunshine among the dark storm clouds over the UK this week has enabled Glencore Grain to complete the loading of 25,000 tonnes of milling wheat at the Port of Tilbury, with the MV Alam Suria now destined for Algeria.

It is believed that this will be the largest single export cargo of UK milling wheat from the 2013 harvest, and marks an important resumption of trade with North Africa - which has been worth in excess of 100,000 tonnes in some previous seasons.

The relatively small tonnage of UK milling wheat available has proved a challenge to complete export orders this season, reported Nick Oakhill of Glencore Grain, which has fulfilled the Algerian order from farms across south-east England.

“With a return to an average crop area now in the ground, the UK could produce an exportable wheat surplus of between 1.5 to two million tonnes for 2014/15, of which a valuable quantity should continue to be marketed to North Africa,” he added.