European Union: During 2004-2005, EU-25 will use about 11 million tonnes of malting barley, against the 10.9 million tonnes of the previous year. The usage of malting barley will decrease by 150,000 tonnes in the UK and 80,000 tonnes in the Netherlands. However, it will increase by 20,000 tonnes in Germany, 65,000 tonnes in Belgium, up to 80,000 tonnes in France, 40,000 tonnes in Finland, 90,000 tonnes in Sweden and 45,000 tonnes in Lithuania. That would take EU demand to about 11 million tonnes compared with forecast total production of 13.6 million, according to the statement of Andree Defois of Paris-based Strategie Grains in a Home-Grown Cereals Authority (HGCA) on-line conference. UK malting barley production this year is expected to be about 2.1 million tonnes and demand about 1.8 million tonnes.

She said: "The European malting scene is being restructured. New maltings devoted to exports have been built in ports, or very close to them, while over-capacity has closed other plants, mostly in the UK and Germany." The most recent to close in Scotland was the 45,000 tonne Kirkcaldy maltings, owned by Muntons plc.

Josh Dadd of the HGCA said that malting barley growers could not look at the market for their crop in isolation, pointing out that good harvests throughout much of the world last year raised global wheat and maize stocks by more than 30 million tonnes to about 260 million: "But that is still the lowest global stock since 1983/84 and suggests that prices will continue to be sensitive to world weather charts." US maize effectively sets comparative prices on the international market, he said. It cannot be ignored because most malting barley contracts are based on a feed value base plus a premium and the US had a record maize crop last year at just under 300 million tonnes. Stocks in store at 51 million tonnes are the second highest since 1992-3.

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