EU & UK: Malting barley premium widens further on concern about two-row barley crops

Malting barley price direction is split in the EU as the French harvest wraps up putting some downward pressure on six-row, while two-row varieties are influenced by the wider concerns in Denmark, Sweden, and Canada. This results in an amazing further widening of the malting barley premium (two-row to feed and six-row), RMI Analytics said in their latest report.

While the feed barley is heavily influenced by corn and wheat markets which have been weaker this period, the malting barley market is clearly moving upon the specific fundamentals for malting barley which is rather bullish at the moment. Demand remains weak which helps supress the upward price move but the analysts said their view remains demand in some form will return which could be bullish.

In the UK, Denmark, and Sweden prices are up. The UK harvest has restarted after a wet period with some weathering reported but otherwise quality and yields are looking ok. In Denmark and south Sweden, second-growth has developed further under wet conditions. The result is a mix of drought-impacted mature kernels and green second-growth plants. Help from the weather is needed to allow the quality available to be captured, the RMI analysts point out.

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 .