Europe: Malting barley market on fire

“The EU malting barley market is on fire,” states GrainCom in its newest market report of today. “Spring malting barley prices are roughly 25 EUR/mt higher than last week … and still trending upwards! Worries about the crops in UK and Scandinavia due to dryness are the main drivers for this price rally,” the report goes on.

H.M. Gauger stated in his Barley Malt World News three days ago that in the Baltic region “drought conditions are so bad that most locals cannot remember a similar situation... Weather has decimated and damaged crops to a great extent.” England is also affected by the drought and “estimates of malting barley exports have dropped from more than half a million to round about a quarter million tons.”

In Central Europe the situation is according to Gauger better but “supplies of good quality barley will not be enough inside the region,” which will drive prices up.

“Maltsters and brewers must be prepared to make major concessions on quality parameters. And they will probably pay much dearer than in past years,” the report concludes.

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