UK: The December HGCA Surveys of Agriculture provide the first official statistical estimates of planted area for the approaching harvest, detailing planted area as at 1 December each year. Total UK winter barley plantings have fallen 7.1 %, with a decline in planted area of 34,000 hectares. Winter barley plantings up to December 2003 are estimated to be 449,000 hectares (483,000 hectares to December 2002). Over 80 percent of winter barley plantings are in England. England saw a reduction of 7.9 percent on the December 2002 area, with planted area in England at December 2003 estimated at 375,000 hectares (407,000 hectares in December 2002). Scotland’s winter barley plantings are reported to be 2.5 percent lower in December 2003, a fall of 2,000 hectares, leaving a planted area of 59,000 hectares (61,000 hectares in December 2002).Winter barley plantings in Wales and Northern Ireland show no change and remain at 15,000 hectares at December 2003.

Cropping decisions may have been driven by market prices at planting time. In early September 2003 UK ex-farm barley prices were around £75 per tonne. At the same time in 2002 when farmers were making planting decisions for harvest 2003, ex-farm barley prices were lower at £55 per tonne, HGCA posted.

UK third country barley exports for July to January 2003/04 totalled 75,000 tonnes, compared to 18,000 tonnes last
year for the corresponding period.

Coceral estimated the EU-15’s 2004 barley production at 48.6M tonnes (+5.4 per cent). In its March report Strategie Grains adjusted its estimate for the 2004 EU-25 grain crop 1.5M tonnes down to 269M tonnes. Barley output is estimated at 57.5M tonnes (31.6M in ’03).

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