EU: Experts envisaged three ways to attenuate the impact of poor barley crop on maltsters

Referring to the EU difficult barley crops and markets, experts stressed out October 31st that there are three possibilities to ration barley supplies to malting companies:

a) higher prices,
b) usage of lower quality barley and
c) a lower malt production.

The market trend to-date indicates that many maltsters and/or brewers have insisted on high quality barley deliveries and have therefore driven up market prices.

The lower quality sector shows a number of limitations: malting barley with handicaps of protein, screenings, germination and pregermination has become very expensive as well, and is not readily available anyway.

First test results of malted feed barley show a poor malt quality, as had to be expected. Therefore the risk of a lesser malt production and a malt short next spring remains a strong possibility.

10 November, 2006