United Kingdom: Barley crop may reach 8 mln tonnes this year

UK’s 2021 winter barley acreage is estimated at 400 thousand ha, yield at 7 tonnes/ha, crop at 2.8 mln tonnes. Spring barley acreage is forecast at 750 thousand ha, yield at 6 tonnes/ha, crop at 4.5 mln tonnes, H. M. Gauger GmbH said earlier in June.

Total barley crop on estimated average yields is seen at 7.3 mln tonnes – or with best possible historic yields - at up to 8.0 mln tonnes.

Industrial barley use is forecast to improve from corona-affected 1.65 mln tonnes in 2020/21 to 1.9 mln tonnes in 2021/22. Feed use was 5.3 mln tonnes in the past crop year; as the production will be 1 mln tonnes lower than in 2020, feed use ought to be lower as well, however, it will also depend on maize and feed wheat availabilities.

On paper there is an export surplus of approximately 1 mln tonnes of malting barley, but the trade does not expect more than 300 - 400 thousand tonnes of exports to the continent. Total barley exports in July/March 20/21 were 1.15 mln tonnes, of which 235 thousand tonnes of feed barley to North Africa.

The U.K. is about to conclude an FTA with Australia, to be followed by treaties with New Zealand and Canada.

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