Following in from the wash out spring and summer, which put a dampener on outlooks and slowed early harvesting attempts, data released this week reveal the UK started its 2012/13 wheat trading campaign as a net importer.

Concerns over quality and availability following the wet weather led wheat buyers to look abroad for supplies in July, when there is usually a small amount of domestic wheat available to satisfy UK buyers’ needs. However, although no wheat had been harvested by the end of July this year,  a miraculous sprint in harvest activity at the beginning of this month led UK farmers to catch up as improving weather conditions helped growers compensate for one of the slowest starts to harvest in memory.

UK exporters shifted 15,613 tonnes of wheat in July and imported 135,917 tonnes. Although England and Wales escaped the worst ravages of the harvest weather, Scottish growers have suffered; estimates of the UK wheat crop have taken a tumble over the past week, based on forecasts for lower quality and yields, meaning 2012/13 looks set to remain one of the most challenging years in the past decade.

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