EU & UK: Barley supply and demand balance described as vague

Barley supply and demand balance is vague in Europe, more than ever, H. M. Gauger GmbH said in their November report.

Apart from quality issues, particularly from very low (Denmark and Sweden) to very high protein contents (France, Germany, and the Czech Republic) and low grain size (Iberian Peninsula), we have a huge amount of influences from outside sources, corona, recession, inflation, energy, transport, war, which could have a strong effect on malt and beer production and consumption, and therefore on barley demand, the analysts said.

Under regular conditions the EU/UK barley balance is tight, as a few hundred thousand tonnes will be exported after all. One factor is the Chinese demand, which apparently has switched completely from malting to FAQ and feed barley.