The German 2003 crop of malting barley is estimated to be at 1.9 million tones, 500 tousand tonnes above 2002 output, HGCA reported on October 13. German farmers planted more malting barley varieties this year. The higher spring barley area was partly encouraged by favourable market prices, but mainly in response to an unusually high percentage of winter kill (about 9 % of the winter barley area, 6 % of winter rapeseed and 4 % of winter wheat). The total spring barley crop is now estimated at 3.6 million tonnes tonnes (3 million tonnes last year). Of this, 1.9 million tonnes are estimated to be of malting barley quality, nearly 500,000 tonnes above last year’s output. Maltsters should have better supplies of malting barley this season, since a good malting barley crop has been harvested in Germany, HGCA said.

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