Orion Farming Group Weekly Straights Update: 23rd July 2026
- Joe Cobb
- 2 hours ago
- 3 min read
The figures in the charts are an indication only and reflect levels traded on Wednesday.
Hipro Soya
A steady week for prices as beans and oil were pulled higher by rising energy markets and continued Chinese buying.
US crop sales are getting close to returning to the 5-year average, very much keeping a base in prices.
US crop continue to maintain condition, with 66% rated good-excellent despite hotter drier weather, although soil moistures have obviously dipped.
Approaching August the market will be watching closely for rains, in order to fulfil the record production the USDA has forecast.
This large soybean crop doesn’t feel fully priced in, due to weather issues this month and with continued Chinese purchases.
Not much pressure from South American farmer selling as prices remain stubbornly high. Farmers are approximately 28% sold vs 35% sold on average.
Rapemeal
Another week of rapemeal prices pushing sharply higher, due in part due to low river levels on the Rhine, reducing barge capacity significantly.
Crush plants are struggling to get new crop rape as a result of barges not loading to full capacity.
Additionally traders have been scrambling to secure supply for any short position they held, so most plants are now well sold for spot/Aug.
A German plant called force majeure due to a technical outage.
There is also the risk being priced in from the attacks in the Black Sea due to the effect on rape exports which are mainly by sea.
Ukraine already exports 89% of it’s meal via rail/western borders with the EU rather than by sea, so more might be crushed domestically.
Canada’s canola crop is being supported by hot weather in some regions, likely to cause stress.
Values look expensive against other options now, with distillers or soya worth looking at.
Erith rapemeal is 73% of soya and Liverpool is 79%.
If river levels improve Nov prices onwards could improve.
Soya hulls
Prices are steady as demand begins to trickle in.
Distillers
There are still some good prices available for Aug/Nov which given what rapemeal prices have done are worth taking advantage of, as nearby demand is expected to switch into more distillers.
US prices are currently higher than the UK’s as they moved higher with maize values.
Winter pricing continuing to hold firm as ethanol plants expect to see increased domestic demand going forward, thereby limiting the amount available to export.
Sugarbeet
Winter prices is expected to be in the region of £290 delivered for both home-produced and imported
No firm home-produced offer due to reduced area but also a lack of rain across a lot of Europe and the UK.
Given the vast price difference between that and hulls, hulls are well worth utilising instead, or having a discussion as to whether North American (deforestation-free) hulls are permitted, if other soya hulls that don’t fulfil the criteria are not permitted.
Wheat/Barley
Grain markets moved higher for another week due to the continued exchange of fire between the Ukraine and Russia around the Black Sea.
Estimations are that Russia export up to 25% of their wheat via the sea of Azov, which leads into the Black Sea and has been the main focus of Ukraine attacks.
Ukraine’s port infrastructure has taken heavy damage, estimated to affect a third of their export capacity.
Grains will likely find other routes out of the country, but at an inevitable cost.
Wheat harvest in both Europe and the UK have been mixed with reductions to product and results.
And finally, totally irrelevant but quite interesting facts of the week…
Guglielmo Marconi, the inventor of the radio, was the great-grandson of the inventor of Jameson’s Irish whiskey and it takes 700 grapes to make a bottle of wine.
Notes: All figures in this report are provided by KW and commentary by GLW Feeds.
Price indications are based on 29t bulk tipped loads delivered to Oxfordshire and are guide prices only.
