India: Indian maltsters buy 55,000 tonnes of Argentinean barley for delivery by November

Indian malt companies – Barmalt Malting India Pvt Ltd and United Breweries Ltd – have signed a contract to import around 55,000 tonnes of barley from Argentina at around $200 per tonne cost and freight, Cogencis reported on September 19 citing an official from one of the companies.

The imports are scheduled to reach Adani Port in Gujarat in the first week of November. However, the quantity being imported by these companies separately is unavailable, the official said.

In August, as per industry estimates, 65,000-75,000 tonnes of barley were imported by malt makers.

With the supply crunch in the domestic market, and the new crop arrivals scheduled to commence only from March, malt companies turned to importing the coarse grain to meet their requirements, owner of a Jaipur-based malt company said.

In addition, barley imports come out cheaper than buying the coarse grain from domestic markets, traders said.

In the benchmark market of Jaipur, the coarse grain was sold at 1,880 rupees per 100 kg on September 19.

Supplies in the market have almost dried up as stocks with farmers have ended, said Mahesh Gupta, owner of the Jaipur-based Swastik Broker.

According to the agriculture ministry's fourth advance estimate, India's barley output in 2018-19 is seen at 1.75 mln tonnes, compared with the final estimate of 1.78 mln tonnes for the previous year.

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