North America: Canada and US to live with their 2021 barley crop failures long into next crop year - analysts

Both Canada and the U.S. will have to live with their 2021 crop failures long into the next crop year, H. M. Gauger GmbH said in their July report.

Shippers had managed to purchase and export 1.8 mln tonnes of Canadian malting and feed barley, of which 1.7 mln tonnes to China. The favourable freight cost to Vancouver grants exporters an advantage vs. the local industries.

The feed barley market at Lethbridge rose from CAD280 to CAD460 per tonne, before receding to CAD400 for crop 2022 barley.

Canadian corn imports from the U.S. and Canadian and U.S. malting barley imports from Argentina, Australia, Denmark, and France filled all domestic feed and part of the malt barley demand. Speculation is that the Noma malt production of the 2021/22 crop year will be 5 -10% lower than normal.

The U.S. has lost a great portion of the Mexican malt market, which is now supplied by the EU, Australia, and even China.

Planting and crop development in 2022 had been affected by drought and heat in the West, cold and rains in the east of the Canadian prairies and the northern U.S. plains. As barley stocks of crop 2021 are empty, an early harvest was hoped for, but now it looks like a late season with the usual risk of early frost or snow.

The hesitant Chinese have bought a relatively small amount - 5 or 6 cargoes - of Canadian new crop malting and feed barley.