EU: Analysts� overview on the crops of EU main barley producers

Barley harvests are over except for the very North, Scotland, Central Sweden and Finland, where at least 50 % have been combined in good condition.

The U.K., Denmark and South Sweden harvested very good crops of malting barley, early poor results in England proved to be exceptions. Colour, grain size, protein and moisture are optimal.

On the other hand, latest evaluations of the French crop show excessive proteins all over the East/Northeast. In the whole country only 1.2- 1.3 Mill. tonnes of spring barley have protein contents below 11.5 % and a few hundred thousand tonnes between 11.5 and 12 %.

South Germany, the Czech Republic and Slovakia have had rainstorms during the last part of their harvests, which led to downgrading of sizeable quantities of malting to feed barley. The German Malting Barley Assn. estimates a selection of 1,523 Million tonnes of malting barley, trade estimates in Bavaria are even lower.

A private Czech estimate puts the sound barley at 60 % of the total spring crop, which would still be 1 Million tonnes. Slovakia had losses in the east of the country.