EU: Limited trade in malting barley reported for this week

Industry sources report some trade in malting barley this week, but volume was limited. However, some fixations are told to be done, GrainCom reported on May 26.

The general price trend was up this week, again dry weather came back into the focus. There is more talk about lower yields in Spain. The UK got some rains recently but needs more. Besides some showers over the weekend it remains dry, the same for Scandinavia with temperatures of +25C° and more.

The European Commission issued new yield estimates this week. Of note was the decrease of spring barley yield in Spain (2.6 t/ha against 3.74 t/ha the year before and 3 t/ha five years average) and in France (5.9 t/ha which is +0.9 t/ha higher than last year but below the five year average). The yields for French winter barley are also estimated to the downside with 5.76 t/ha which is still slightly higher than last year but way below the 5-year average of 6.56 t/ha.