Canada: Barley prices move upward in Canada

Rising United States corn futures and a weaker Canadian dollar have given room for barley prices to move upwards, said Jim Beusekom, president of Market Place Commodities in Lethbridge, Alta, Grainews reported on January 16.

However, he said the spot market hasn’t risen as much as forward prices.

“Feedlots were able to secure supply for short-term delivery for January and February at (lower) values a month ago. Whereas if they wanted to buy (for) springtime and summer, the prices are up C$10 to C$15 per tonne,” Beusekom said.

Despite barley being at a lower price than U.S. corn, feedlots haven’t significantly shifted their preference towards the former yet.

“The reason for that is they’re just bought out. Feedlots have a lot of contracts in place for corn and barley and this has only been going on for about a month,” Beusekom said. “Corn never really got going like it did last year. There’s a steady amount of corn being used, but it’s a far cry from what was used last year.”

Feed grain shipments are currently in a seasonal lull and are not expected to ramp up until mid-February at the earliest. Beusekom said this is because feedlots are replacing their cattle with smaller ones and demand for feed has been capped by the shrinking North American herd.

The uncertainty over potential tariffs to be imposed on U.S. imports from Canada by president-elect Donald Trump has also led to a lack of grain purchases.

“I see some guys standing aside, maybe shipping out cattle. They’re hard to get anyway. We’ll see what happens first,” Beusekom said. “Without the U.S. uncertainty, I almost think we would drift sideways to slightly lower in the spot market in feed barley and potentially feed wheat, and then move significantly in the springtime and summer.”

Delivered feed barley prices in Alberta ranged from C$4.75 to C$6.64 per bushel on Jan. 15, steady from the month before, according to Prairie Ag Hotwire. In Saskatchewan, prices were C$4.75 to C$5.50/bu. with the higher end up 71 cents from last month. In Manitoba, they were C$4.50 to C$4.97/bu. with the maximum up 20 cents from a month earlier.

For feed wheat, delivered prices in Alberta were C$6.40 to C$8.44/bu., down eight cents from last month. Saskatchewan’s range was C$7.00 to C$7.75/bu., up 38 cents. Manitoba only reported C$7.00/bu., up 15 cents.

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