At the start of November the cost of 8x4x3 bales had reached €45 per bale, delivered into the west of Ireland.
€15 to €17 was being paid for good quality round bales at the start of November. A cereal grower quoted in the Farming Independent supplement said he had a contract with a mushroom composter for the majority of his wheaten straw. He admitted that the price for this was low, but he was hopeful of pushing it up.
Traders attributed the sudden lift in straw prices to the continuing weather difficulties in the west and the recent arrival of CAP direct payments.
“ A lot of farmers hadn’t the money to pay for straw up to that (receiving their basic payment) and were putting off purchasing” one southern trader explained. He maintained that the inability of farmers to pay would keep a ceiling on prices.
