Ukraine: Ukraine could replace Australia as the biggest supplier of barley to Saudi Arabia

Ukraine could replace Australia as the biggest supplier of barley to Saudi Arabia, the world's largest buyer of the grain according to an U.S. agricultural report Bloomberg announced on January 1st.

The world's biggest oil exporter, Saudi Arabia, bought 6.07 million tons of barley in the 11 months ended November 30, 34 % more than in the same period a year earlier, the U.S. Foreign Agricultural Service in Riyadh said in a report released on Dec. 27. Australia's share plunged to 21 % from 63 % in 2004, while Ukraine increased its share by 6 % points to 30 %, the report said.

``Australia is lagging considerably behind Ukraine in barley exports and is expected to lose its dominance of the Saudi barley market to Ukraine at least'' in 2005, Hussein Mousa and Kurt Seifarth said in the report, citing Saudi customs data.

Australian barley exporters, which include Adelaide, Australia-based ABB Grain Ltd. and Sydney-based GrainCorp Ltd., had less barley to sell last year after a lingering drought caused production of the grain to fall 38 %.

Saudi Arabia bought $534 million of the livestock feed in 2004, according to the Food & Agricultural Organization of the United Nations.