EU: There is no room for savings or speculation in the malting industry

The malt calculation in the EU leaves little room for savings or speculation. The price of energy has gone up by 30 % on average since a year ago. Freight cost has increased, mainly for road transport.

Forecasts for spring barley acreages are down in the major malting barley regions, by 5 % or less in the Czech Republic, Denmark and the U.K., but around 10 % in France, Germany and Sweden. It can be said, of course, that barley needs for malting will be down by the same amounts.

Planting is late everywhere, but March snowfall and rains provided for good moisture reserves. A number of reasons can be cited for the lower malting barley acreage, one important reason is the disenchantment of farmers with their revenues from malting barley crops.

Low barley prices are an obvious consequence of the pressure on malt markets. If this situation continued, it could one day lead to a real supply crisis, the more so as there are new alternative outlets for grain crops.