May 21 LIFFE wheat futures broke above £190/tonne last week, bolstered by global markets and a weak pound. Nov 21 LIFFE wheat futures have also been boosted.

Peter Collier, CRM AgriCommodities, said UK grain markets continued to be pushed up by global uncertainty about the prospects for wheat in Russia and the US while the Argentinian crop ‘continues to suffer’.

He added: “Speculative investors have piled into agriculture on the basis of these dry weather headline-grabbing new stories, viewing them as an attractive investment opportunity.

“Similarly, in France, strong buying of wheat from China has buoyed Paris milling wheat futures and in turn UK feed wheat values for both current and new crop contracts.”