Argentina: Barley crop forecast down on quality concerns

Wet conditions prevail across key barley areas in South America, starting with Brazil and Uruguay, and delaying the Argentine harvest but weather has now cleared, RMI Analytics said in their late December report.

As Argentina harvest advances toward 50% complete, some lighter test-weight and variable proteins are being reported, validating concerns about the October heat wave. On this basis, the analysts’ Argentina barley production forecast is down 0.2 mln tonnes to 5.0 mln.

Farmer selling has increased only slightly as harvest struggled through rain delays, and liquidity remains low by historical terms. Prices are drifting slightly lower as harvest advances into southern Buenos Aires province. The variable quality is adding a further challenge as some farmers are harvesting higher moisture barley in an effort to move on to soybean seeding.

There has been open demand in the market with continued interest from Brazil plus India has inquired as well. Feed barley has reportedly traded to Saudi.