World: Global barley crop looking better thanks to rain in Canada and parts of Australia

Generally, the global 2024 barley crop is looking better now than it was one month ago, with rain falling in Canada and parts of Australia, RMI Analytics said in their latest report.

In Europe, although it has been unseasonably wet, there is now a much needed warming. However, the crop problems in Russia and Ukraine have led to a -0.9 mln tonnes reduction in world production to 147.8 mln tones. This is still a rebound from crop 2023 and more importantly, current crop conditions point to a reasonable yield & quality result in key malting barley areas (EU27+UK, Canada, Argentina, & Australia). At historical selection rates, suitable malting barley availability increases.

The situation in Russia is having a feed barley impact as RMI’s crop estimate is down -0.6 mln tonnes, and could be lowered more once the crop impact of frost & drought is fully determined.

A rebound in overall barley production in 2024, despite problems in the Black Sea region, and a recovery in malting barley selection rates is an overall positive for barley fundamentals. However, the outside influence from corn and wheat will likely continue to impact barley prices beyond purely barley’s own fundamentals, the analysts said.

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