EU & UK & Russia: Barley crop forecast unchanged at 57.7 mln tonnes

Barley production forecast across the EU27+UK is unchanged at 57.7 mln tonnes. A wet season continues as northern regions wrapped up harvest and as a result, 2025 moisture conditions are good, RMI Analytics said in their early October report.

Russia is in the news, with a further reduction in barley production to 16.8 mln tonnes, (down 0.1 mln tonnes). In addition, the Russian Govt. announced plans to impose a ~USD2/tonne tax on barley exports, in conjunction with a 10-fold increase in the corn export tax to ~USD30/tonne.

On top of Europe’s exports falling due to the reduced winter barley crops, Russia’s plan to constrain grain exports adds a new dimension to world trade, especially in regards to the feed grain complex.