Spanish farmers started sowing wheat and barley this week after rain softened the soil, while grain prices nudged higher because of the rising cost of freight, traders said.
Farmers all over the peninsula have started sowing the winter crops, said Jesus Rivera, technician at farmers' union ASAJA, but while abundant rain allowed them to start planting, farmers reaping maize had to stop work because of the downpour.
Feed wheat in the port of Tarragona edged up to 127 euros ($160) a tonne for January to May delivery from 123 to 126 euros last week which traders said was due to freight costs.
Data shows there is a bumper harvest in Europe this year and western European prices are coming under pressure from large imports from the Black Sea area. However freight costs -- up on demand from China and expectations that a strong world-wide harvest will continue to underpin demand for ships - are lending support.
"If freights were normal this would be terrible," a Malaga-based trader said. "Freight costs are clearly supporting the domestic market."
Higher freight costs push up the cost of domestic as well as imported grain as Spain is not self-sufficient.
A Madrid-based trader said that because of high freight costs importers are pacing their shipments from the Black Sea to avoid expensive delays in crowded ports.
"We assumed there would be massive imports, ships waiting and that hasn't happened. There has been a gradual flow of ships, which is reasonable considering the price of freight."
A port source said 15,000 tonnes of Ukrainian wheat were being unloaded in Tarragona on Wednesday, along with 36,000 tonnes of US milling wheat. Cartagena port data showed a ship with 16,400 tonnes of Canadian wheat docked and 4,700 tonnes of French wheat expected on Thursday.
Another 18,000 tonnes of Black Sea wheat was being unloaded at Huelva in southern Spain, a trader said.
In La Coruna, there were two ships with a total 7,000 tonnes of British feed wheat - mainly for use by a nearby bioethanol plant - a trader there said, adding that the pace of UK arrivals had slowed recently due to freight costs.
Barley prices remained firm to a touch lower with trade minimal and farmers holding onto merchandise, trade and cooperative sources said.
The European Union awarded its first subsidies on grain exports last week on 10,000 tonnes of barley and traders said although it was a small amount the move was lending support. The measure props up prices in the bloc by reducing supply, dumping subsidised and therefore cheap grain on foreign markets.
"You can interpret it as you like and those who don't want to sell will interpret it (as positive)," a Spanish trader said.
Durum wheat continued to struggle to find an export market, traders said, and prices for medium quality durum fell to 138 euros a tonne FOB in Seville from 145 euros a month ago.
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