Australia: Demand for barley remains weak in Australia

The barley demand situation remains weak in Australia, and Chinese beer volumes are rumoured to be dramatically lower (3-5%) which would explain the reduction in malting barley demand from China earlier this year, RMI Analytics said in their early April report.

The good rains in Queensland, New South Wales and parts of Victoria are applying downward pressure on feed barley prices. Malting barley prices are more steady, as farmer selling is limited and traders are not seeing much action in terms of new business .

There is certainly concern the US trade war, with China as a primary target, could be a major headwind for Australia as the economic impact on China is immense.

The RMI Barley Price Model is forecasting Australian barley prices to move higher over the next six months, despite the numerous factors to the bearish side.

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