EU & UK: Weather continues to be uncooperative as last parts of barley harvest are wrapping up

The weather continues to be uncooperative as the last parts of Europe barley harvest are wrapped up, RMI Analytics said in their latest report earlier in September.

This adds further uncertainty to final malting barley quality. The result in Scandinavia is being assessed, but without a doubt the availability of malting quality is reduced. In Scotland, there are reports of quality parameters being widened to help ensure all possible barley is selected for malt.

No changes are made to the total crop forecast for the EU-27 + UK at 54.27 mln tonnes, down 4.5 mln tonnes from 2022.

The main question in Europe remains two-row spring malting barley supply, with northern Europe experiencing difficulties. The French and southern England crops offer some stability but with export demand expected to remain high, there is a very tight balance, the analysts said.

French malting barley prices are steady to slightly down as harvest has been completed.

Mosel prices, although steady, are well supported in RMI Analytics’ view as the final result in Scandinavia is awaited but the German crop result is viewed as generally ok.

The Creil market, for the time being, is calm as China has shifted its barley focus to the renewal of their supply chain from Australia with the ending of the import tariff.

Price pressure on the barley market is also coming from the weaker futures complex, which is dealing with a large Russian wheat crop and more talk of a revitalization of the Black Sea Grain Initiative. In the shorter term the influence from these outside markets is expected to continue.

In the UK, with the south of England result known, maltsters are looking at the rain impact in central and eastern growing regions and there is considerable sampling underway to assess the final crop outcome.

To an even greater extent, the Scandinavia situation is being assessed as well from a very difficult harvest. Over the past 2-3 weeks the news appears slightly more positive, although the final result is awaited.

For both the UK and Denmark, prices are steady for crop 2023, it is reported.

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