EU: The EU has issued export licences for 2.06 million tonnes of barley to-date, too little in view of a surplus of 7 million tonnes. As barley supplies of other origins are drying up, an upsurge of exports is hoped for in spring and summer.
The EU Commission must rather be afraid of another large crop. Barley stocks in intervention of 1.867 million tonnes are unpleasant, but manageable, but total grain stocks and applications of 12.7 million tonnes are a huge burden, and it is expected that total intervention will reach 17 million tonnes by the end of the intervention period, May 31. More than 4 million tonnes in Hungary and almost 1 million tonnes in the Czech Republic present a new and expensive problem due to high cost of transport to export points.