EU: Spring barley planting pace up thanks to dry conditions

The rapid pace of spring barley planting in the EU has occurred due to dry conditions, which was becoming a concern as rain has been limited, except in Spain, RMI Analytics said in their latest report published on April 17.

French barley crop conditions (winter 72% Good/Excellent; spring 84%) are steady and a crop of 58.3 mln tonnes is expected, up 0.1 mln. Demand from feed is up slightly, reducing ending stocks by 0.4 mln tonnes. Ukraine’s crop’25 estimate is at 5.6 mln tonnes, down 0.1 mln due to delays in planting.

While nominal barley prices are down only marginally, the currency impact of a much stronger euro is reflecting in higher prices in USD terms. Trade in crop’24 is virtually non-existent, and although the focus has moved entirely to crop’25, there is also limited trade in new crop. The sizeable premium of crop’25 over crop’24 offers an opportunity to carry old crop to new.