World barley crop estimates of IGC published on January 27, 2005:
World crop 2004 barley 150 million tonnes versus 140 million tonnes in 2003;
World crop 2004 all grains 1,625 million tonnes compared to 1,468 million tonnes in 2003.
End of grain year stocks will be rebuilt from 262 to 309 million tonnes, according to IGC. All markets are sharply lower than a year ago. As in many past years, barley (US$ 130 FOB EU/Black Sea) obtains a high premium over maize (3 YC US$ 92-93 FOB Gulf). Crops in the Southern Hemisphere turned out excellent except for Australia. Winter weather in the Northern Hemisphere has been mostly beneficial for winter plantings. At this time it looks like another big crop, however, nothing is sure until “the crop is in the barn”.

E-malt.com, the global information source for the brewing and malting industry professionals. The bi-weekly E-malt.com Newsletters feature latest industry news, statistics in graphs and tables, world barley and malt prices, and other relevant information. Click here to get full access to E-malt.com. If you are a Castle Malting client, you can get free access to E-malt.com website and publications. Contact us for more information at marketing@castlemalting.com .