Monday Market briefing - 4th October

Whether it’s fuel supplies at the pump, or fresh produce in the supermarket – the Just-In-Time delivery model for commodities is broken. While some of this can be attributed to work visas following Brexit, available labour for the supply chain industry is in short supply – particularly in haulage and logistics.

Fortunately Bartholomews has its own haulage fleet of bulk and palletised freight vehicles. However, when and where to deploy available trucks to give the greatest benefit to customers has become increasingly difficult, with high demand for grain collections, but also for deliveries of fertiliser, seed and agchem. Growers wishing to place produce into available grain markets need to plan ahead for cash flow and storage considerations. This forward notice allows us to place produce to the best markets, and to offer adequate logistics in a timely manner.

Investments into infrastructure for grain movement are particularly critical at the moment as grain markets continue to rally higher. Our export facility at Shoreham is working around the clock to segregate this season’s extremely variable UK crop. Global wheat stocks are also unusually low, relying heavily on the US corn harvest, currently underway at present. Any further disruption to supply chain logistics is likely to support grain values going forward.

Have a good week.