EU: Feed barley prices matching or surpassing milling wheat

Prices for animal-feed barley in Europe are matching or surpassing milling wheat, an unusual trend driven by strong export demand and tight supply, traders said.

Feed barley, which represents most of the market for barley, typically trades at a steep discount to bread wheat.

Its overall price is lower than last year, against the background of a heavily supplied grain sector. But its relative strength against wheat has brought higher-than-expected costs for buyers, particularly in North Africa and the Middle East.

Despite a larger European Union harvest this year, availability of barley has shrunk due to brisk French shipments to China, slow farmer selling elsewhere, and Turkey’s switch from exporter to importer after a poor crop.

Traders said west EU and Baltic feed barley prices were around the same as wheat at between US$221 and $226 a tonne FOB for December loading. Black Sea barley prices were higher with Russian and Ukrainian at around $227-$229 a tonne FOB.

France has already shipped half its projected non-EU barley exports for 2025/26, including nearly 900,000 tonnes to China, and is still loading for Saudi Arabia, LSEG data shows.

With French farmers largely sold out, export premiums have risen above wheat, traders said. Black Sea supplies are also dwindling, leaving Germany to fill gaps, though reluctant farmer selling is maintaining supply tension.

While barley is rarely so highly priced versus wheat, absolute levels remain below last year amid ample global grain supply. Some farmers are holding out for better returns, with recent purchases from Algeria, Tunisia and Turkey to be covered.

Illustrating tight supply, Jordan received no offers in a tender for 120,000 tonnes on Wednesday.

But some say large crops in Argentina and Australia could soon dampen the market and prevent higher costs being felt down the food chain.

“These international barley prices may well cool down after Christmas,” British merchant Frontier Agriculture said.