China: January-September barley imports surpass total 2020 figure

China has customs-cleared 8.6 mln tonnes of barley in January-September 2021 vs. 8.1 mln tonnes in the whole year 2020, H. M. Gauger GmbH said in their November report.

The sellers were Canada with 2.63 mln tonnes, France with 2.41 mln, Ukraine with 1.67, Argentina with 1.61 mln tonnes. Smaller quantities were also delivered from Uruguay and Kazakhstan.

In September Ukraine delivered 780 thousand tonnes to China, France 630 thousand tonnes of new crop barley.

In the meantime new crop shipments have run up to following levels:

France, estimate: shipped and expected to load for China till end November: 1.2 – 1.5 mln tonnes of new crop, mainly feed barley. The premium of 2RS malting barley is too high for any new export business.

Canada, estimate: shipped and expected to load for China 1.2 mln tonnes (300 thousand tonnes of malting, 950 thousand of feed barley). Pre-harvest sales were 2.0 mln tonnes, Contracts had to be cancelled or origins had be changed. No further shipments and certainly no further sales are anticipated.

Argentina: Barley shipments to China in the crop year of December 2020/November 2021 are estimated at 1.65 mln tonnes, mostly FAQ barley. Total export licence fixations to-date are 2.35 mln tonnes for the old crop year and 1.65 mln tonnes for the crop year 2021/22. The feed barley numbers were 1.45 mln tonnes of old crop, 1.38 mln tonnes of new crop; feed barley exports went and will go almost exclusively to China.

Ukraine: Barley shipments and loading to all destinations were 4.8 mln tonnes during July – October 2021. Shipments to China were 2.24 mln tonnes in July/September.

Total 2021 shipments to China will amount to 11 – 12 mln tonnes, the Gauger analysts believe. China has successfully replaced Australia as a feed barley supplier, but struggles hard to find enough quality malting barley elsewhere.

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