No further progress was made between the Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA) and Boortmalt in negotiations today (February 6).
The IFA has told AgriLand that the door is still wide open for talks between the two sides, but it will most likely go back to growers on Monday night (February 11) to decide on the next steps to take.
Transport subsidies were also an issue as a new price proposal presented to the audience no longer included a transport subsidy for the haulage of grain from areas where grain intakes had been closed down.
The re in-statement of transport subsidies would most likely go a long way in securing a deal, while a move away from an average FOB Creil price might also help, but farmers were extremely determined to achieve a minimum price of €200/t at last Monday’s meeting.
The proposed deal
The new price would be based on the FOB (free on board) Creil malting barley price (two-row varieties – Sebastian, Irina and Planet). The French price was at €192.50/t (dry) on Friday, February 1.
This dried French price will be used as the Boortmalt green price – the base price at 20% moisture content. The listed FOB Creil price will be the base price here in Ireland and subject to moisture bonuses or reductions.
At close of business on Wednesday of each week of the year, from weeks 14 to 36, the price will be taken and averaged to give a final harvest price in September. At present this structure will replace the option to forward sell barley.
A premium of €10/t for distilling barley over this price is also part of the new deal.