UK grain merchant Openfield said on Friday it had signed a major contract to supply feed wheat to the United States with the first shipment due for loading next week. Britain's largest grain farmer co-operative said the approach from a major US feed compounder followed a dramatic rise in their domestic corn prices. Mark Worrell, Openfield's director of sales and trading, said a vessel with a capacity of 45,000 tonnes was due to dock at Bristol's Portbury Docks next Wednesday.
Openfield declined to provide details of further shipments although Worrell said in a statement that "he looks forward to seeing it (the vessel) back soon." The sale is Openfield's first to a US customer. The last sale of British feed wheat to the United States was in the 2009/10 season (July/June) when shipments totalled 71,886 tonnes, according to customs data. There were no sales in the 2010/11 season. US corn futures are currently trading at a premium to wheat. They have risen by about 17 percent during the last 12 months, boosted by dwindling stocks, while ample supplies of wheat have seen prices fall by around 9 percent.