EU & UK: Barley production forecast remains unchanged at 62.5 mln tonnes

Clearing weather in France aided winter seeding and Scottish harvest wrapped up after a struggling year to conclude Europe’s harvest. RMI Analytics’ barley production forecast for the EU is unchanged at 62.5 mln tonnes.

Heavy snow in northern Russia hit the last bit of barley and wheat harvest. UK barley exports are running ahead of crop’24; Ireland, Belgium, Netherland are main destinations without shipments to Spain reported, a regular destination in recent years.

Amidst the overall increase in crop’25 of 5.4 mln tonnes over crop '24, the EU27+UK maintains a solid supply situation, the analysts said.

For malting barley stocks, the combination of a crop’24 carry-out and the favourable results from crop '25 ensures sufficient availability. Furthermore, when factoring in Russia and Ukraine, a significant amount of feed barley is poised to enter the global market once logistical challenges are overcome.