E-Malt.com News article: 1862

Total barley production in Scotland is put at 2.04M tonnes for 2003 year, up 340,000 tonnes on 2002, according to HGCA report form November 24. Record yields boosted the spring crop, which rose 322,000 tonnes to 1.61M tonnes. Winter barley production rose 20,000 tonnes to 0.43M tonnes.

Malting barley quality in Scotland this year was exceptionally favourable in most respects as far as the needs of the distilling market are concerned. Demand for low nitrogen barley (below <1.65%N) for Scottish distilling and domestic brewing is expected to be between 500,000 and 550,000 tonnes. Based on data from the HGCA Cereal Quality Survey, 83% of Scottish Optic samples from the 2003 harvest recorded a nitrogen level below 1.6%N (graph 2). This is 20% over the average recorded in the previous 3 years. Based on Optic’s 41.2% share of Scottish seed barley certifications at 2002 harvest, estimated production of Optic at 2003 harvest would have been around 660,000 tonnes. This would leave low nitrogen Optic production at around 550,000 tonnes though not all this barley would meet malting specification due to other quality issues such as screenings. However, when one considers the significant tonnage of other suitable spring varieties available this market has clearly been oversupplied this season.

Current low premiums reflect the oversupply of malting barley both in Scotland and abroad and the shortage of feedgrains within the EU, which has boosted feed barley prices significantly in recent months. For this season so far HGCA Corn Returns data put the average Scottish malting barley price at £80.54 and feed barley at £70.42 to leave premiums at around £10 per tonne. In fact the latest recorded prices from the Corn Returns on the 30 October put malting premiums at just £4.50 per tonne as rising feed values squeeze the malting premium. This compares to the 2002/03 season when the Corn Returns recorded an average Scottish malting barley price of £69.25 and feed barley at £54.89 to leave premiums closer to £15 per tonne.

While the distilling and domestic brewing sector has been well supplied, the low nitrogen levels of this year’s crop have created problems for maltsters producing higher nitrogen malt for domestic lager production and export usage, estimated at up to 180,000 tonnes. Only around 17% of Optic samples or 110,000 tonnes are estimated to have nitrogen levels above 1.6%N.The low nitrogen levels in varieties such as Decanter have also created supply problems for the high nitrogen, high diastatic market for distilling usage estimated at around 80,000 tonnes.

Scotland is estimated to have a potential export availability of around 0.45M tonnes of both feed and malting barley. Feed barley exports so far have been driven by exceptionally strong demand for feed grains on the Continent. While some malting barley exports have been reported, the tonnage that will be shipped for malting is expected to be modest. Export grade Optic for shipment to Continental markets requires higher nitrogen levels, typically 1.80%N, exactly the quality range that is in relatively short supply in Scotland.

Although an exceptional year, it does highlight the problem that domestic malting barley growers face in aiming purely for the finite distilling market, which in a year like this can quickly be over supplied.


01 December, 2003