World: World malting barley supplies look dangerously low

There are no alternatives for malting barley (except lower qualities). World supplies look dangerously low, H. M. Gauger GmbH said in their August report.

The EU is short of spring, luckily not so of six-row winter barley, altogether 0.5 to 1.0 mln tonnes. How much selected malting barley will Argentina, Australia and Canada have remains a question. The import demand of China (3.6 mln tonnes), other Asia, Africa, South America, Russia and Turkey adds up to 5.0 – 5.5 mln tonnes. It looks like a year, when in many places barley and malt specifications will have to be softened. Formerly undesired varieties, e.g. Planet, will be accepted with open arms. It also looks like a year of high prices and un-budgeted losses for the industries, the Gauger analysts warned.