The latest National Statistics produced by Defra on the tonnages of wheat, barley and oats held on farms in England and Wales and wheat, barley, oats and maize held by UK ports, co‐operatives and merchants were released on 30 August 2012 according to the arrangements approved by the UK Statistics Authority. This twice‐yearly notice will next be updated in May 2013 and will show the cereal stocks held at the end of February 2013.

Key results:

Stocks of cereals held on farms in England and Wales in June 2012:

• Stocks of own‐grown wheat decreased by 4% compared to June 2011 and at 403 thousand tonnes are the lowest reported stocks since 1999/2000. This equates to 3% of the 2011 wheat production which is in line with 2011 stocks when expressed in this way.
• Barley stocks were 63 thousand tonnes at June 2012, similar to the low stocks of 56 thousand tonnes recorded at June 2011. For both years stocks were equivalent to 2% of production.
• Stocks of oats were 14 thousand tonnes at June 2012, similar to the low stocks of 15 thousand tonnes reported for June 2011.

Stocks of cereals held in ports, co‐ops and merchants in the UK at the end of June 2012

• Own‐grown wheat stocks stood at 561 thousand tonnes, an decrease of 6% on June 2011. Imported wheat stocks accounted for an additional 117 thousand tonnes, very similar to the 119 thousand tonnes reported for June 2011.
• Own‐grown barley stocks stood at 310 thousand tonnes compared to 250 thousand tonnes reported for June 2011. Although an increase on June 2011, stocks are lower than in 2009 and 2010.
• Imported maize stocks were 106 thousand tonnes, a 40% increase on June 2011.

Revisions: There are minor revisions (1‐11 thousand tonnes) to the stocks of home grown wheat and barley and imported maize held in ports, co‐ops and by merchants for February 2012 due to estimates for a few respondents being replaced with actual figures received post publication.

As expected there is a close correlation between the volume of grain in stock on farms in each region and the size of production in that region. The largest amounts of wheat are produced in the East of England and the East Midlands accounting for approximately 26% and 21% of total production respectively. These two regions also had the largest volume of own‐grown wheat in stock with 68 and 100 tonnes respectively. However when calculated as a proportion of regional production it is the East Midlands, Yorkshire and The Humber and the South West and Wales that have the largest proportions of wheat still in stock at the end of June 2012 from the 2011 harvest.

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