The Canadian Wheat Board (CWB) said on August 19 it is raising the mid-month Pool Return Outlook (PRO) for feed barley because crop potential in the EU has been reduced, according to a publication of High Plains Journal.

The PRO for feed barley for the '03/04 crop has increased by C$22 per metric ton from the July level. The mid-August PRO, in store Vancouver or St. Lawrence, for 1 CW feed barley is $147.00 per ton, or $3.20 per bushel. The July PRO was $125.00 per ton, or $2.72 per bushel.

International feed barley prices have risen as EU prospects have declined and other exporters like Canada are finding greater opportunities for export. Smaller supplies are expected from Russia and the Ukraine, too.

CWB said prices for barley could weaken in the second half of the marketing year, depending on the size of the US corn crop and the feed grain harvest in the southern hemisphere.

19 August, 2003