Ukraine: Barley prices at record high since 2014

As of 4 April, the cost of Ukrainian barley FOB Ukrainian ports increased to $208-218 per tonne, which is 27% higher than the price for the same period last year, the Ukrainian Agribusiness Club (UCAB) reports.

The association said on its website that such a price for domestic grain crop is a record since the end of 2014.

“The main factor in the steady increase in barley prices over the past few months was the unstable demand from Saudi Arabia, which is the key importer of this grain in the world. In 2017, Ukraine shipped 2.07 million tonnes of barley to Saudi Arabia, or 57% of total barley exports from Ukraine,” analyst of agricultural markets of the UCAB Ilha Kharabara said.

This year, demand from Saudi Arabia is not sustainable – tenders for the purchase are infrequent, but volumes are quite significant. At the last tender, the Saudi Grains Organization (SAGO) announced the purchase of 1 million tonnes of barley, at the previous one the nation purchased 0.96 million tonnes.

The tense world balance at the beginning of the marketing year supported the price increase for barley – world production fell to 142.4 million tonnes in 2017/2018, 3.5 million tonnes less than last year.