Argentina: Barley harvest approximately 90% complete, forecast remains at 5 mln tonnes

Argentina’s barley harvest has advanced to approximately 90% complete, and managed through persistent rain over the past month, RMI Analytics said in their latest report.

There is a degree of quality variability reported from the harvest results, particularly with proteins higher and test weight lower than normal. Despite the rain impacting the pace of harvest, there are no indications of germination issues related to the weather.

With yields as expected, RMI Analytics’ production forecast for Argentina barley remains at 5.0 mln tonnes; their crop’25 production forecast is down 0.1 mln tonnes to 4.9 mln. This reduction in crop’25 comes about from an unchanged planted area and a minor move in yields, down to the longer-term average.

With a mostly static production level from crop’24 to crop’25, ending stocks are expected to increase, as export decline.

Unless malting barley demand rebounds, an increasing proportion of the crop will need to be sold as feed/FAQ. Farmer selling has increased to a degree, almost exclusively feed barley, and mainly in smaller quantities to generate immediate cash flow needs of the farmers, the analysts said.