EU: Barley crop forecast remains at 57.5 mln tonnes

The French crop�25 winter barley rating has slipped to 68% Good & Excellent versus 71% a year ago when crop�24 was a challenging year. In terms of spring barley planting in France, the weather has been mostly favourable and progress so far at 23% seeded, versus the 5-Yr average of 24%.

RMI Analytics� barley crop�25 forecast for EU-27 remains at 57.5 mln tonnes, reflecting a minor increase over crop�24, which has been reduced to 57.0 mln tonnes (down -0.4 mln) as final yields were validated.

The trend across European barley prices is upward, led in part by stronger feed grain prices and the rollout of spring barley planting. Maintaining a premium for spring barley over feed is critical to help ensure the expected decline in barley planted area is minimized.

Feed prices are supported by the Russian export quota and some steady demand in the market from the Middle East (Saudi).