China: Barley imports could reach more than 3.2 mln tonnes this year

China’s barley imports in January-February of this year were 1.473 mln tonnes, of which 1.27 mln tonnes from Australia and 0.2 mln tonnes from Canada, H. M. Gauger GmbH said in their April report.

The Chinese malting capacity is said to be 4.6 mln tonnes. Seaboard maltsters, mainly the big groups, are working at full capacity, part of the inland maltsters are doing badly, but are often kept alive by local governments and banks. Beer output is still falling and may drop to 425 mln hl in the year 2017. But driven by craft brewers and beer imports, Chinese beer quality is improving, one recent estimate put the malt usage at 7 to 8 kg per hl. According to Gauger analysts, import estimates of 3.2 to 3.5 mln tonnes of barley must be close to reality.

The big surprise is the large feed barley demand. Registered CNF prices for the February imports of 700,000 tonnes from Australia were USD 190,- per ton on average, obviously most had to be feed or FAQ barley. If China does not put up new obstacles, imports of malting and feed barley for the year could easily reach more than 6 mln tonnes, the analysts believe.

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