EU & UK: Malting barley premium remains extremely wide in crop 2023 but crop 2024 sees dramatic reduction

French malting barley prices are mostly unchanged for crops 2023 and 2024, RMI Analytics said in their early January report.

While the malting premium remains extremely wide in crop 2023 (around EUR110/tonne), there is a dramatic reduction in crop 2024 (EUR55-60 per tonne). Availability of 6-row winter is contributing to these spreads along with the quality concerns about the Danish crop.

Despite a quiet market, crop 2023 barley exports are tracking crop 2022 levels, but remain behind the crop 2021 pace.

The Danish market remains a slight premium over the UK but Danish values are more indicative as most activity has been the washing of previous contracts. In the UK, activity is low as well, as Q4 contracts have rolled into 2024 and keep the market on the defensive. Domestic maltsters are still showing bids for Q2 delivery which shows some open demand still exists, but otherwise, the export trade is virtually non-existent. In both markets, the trade is monitoring germinations very closely.

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