He said there was no actual fear of a late harvest in Denmark. End-August to early September was the normal time for harvesting to be completed. "We are watching out for harvest news and keeping an eye on qualities. With some 20 percent of wheat in, protein levels are a half to one percentage point down on last year," one trader said. The protein level of the 1997/98 wheat harvest was 10 percent, up from eight in the previous year.

New harvest export feed wheat for August delivery (fob) was quoted at 855 crowns ($123) per tonne for sellers, with buyers at 845 crowns, compared to 840 and 835 crowns respectively last week.Prices for later deliveries also showed a rising tendency. After weeks without any milling wheat in the market, a sellers' price of 890 crowns for sellers and 875 crowns for buyers for September delivery was quoted, with the price outlook seen as stable. The Danish malting barley market was slightly busier ahead of the arrival of the new crop at end-August or early September, a specialist dealer said. Prices were stable and buyer interest on the increase.

"Interest is picking up a bit with enquiries from buyers," he said. An unchanged sellers` price of 270 marks ($147) per tonne was quoted for new crop malting barley for October delivery, with buyers at 265 marks compared to 263 marks last week.

With the Danish harvest gathering momentum, although subject to interruptions due to rain, early reports in the agricultural weekly Landsbladet talked of disappointing spring barley with high moisture content but better quality wheat in several regions. Although wheat had been affected by heavy rain, farmersexpressed cautious optimism about the harvest`s general potential, although in some areas dampness affected quality.

The malt barley crop had good protein content, if lower than last year`s, and grain quality was generally high, one producer told the newspaper. The triticale harvest was reported to be poor. The Copenhagen Stock Exchange quoted no domestic grain prices due to suspension of data gathering until the new harvest had been brought in. It expected to resume quoting prices in September. The Federation of Danish Pig Producers and Slaughterhouses quoted a domestic farm gate price of 8.00 crowns ($1.15) per kg for the coming week, 0.20 crown up from last week.