UK: Scarce barley could shake prices

Farmers are warning that consumers may have to pay more for beer and whiskey later in the year because of scarce supplies of malting barley, RTE reported August 3.

The bad weather has damaged much of this year's crop in Ireland and Britain. But the maker of Guinness - Diageo - says it is too early to predict what impact the harvest will have on price.

Malting barley is used for brewing and whiskey making. It is the top paying crop for cereal growers. Harvesting has just begun, but the indications are that yields will be down because of the bad summer.

The crop has also been damaged in Britain and the continent due to the weather, and there is already a world shortage because of drought elsewhere.

The shortage has caused world prices to double this year, and farmers say supplies in Ireland could be significantly down.

Diageo says it is watching the situation very closely, but is not unduly concerned at this stage

08 August, 2007