Canada: CWB maintains malting barley values, raises feed barley for crop 2010-11

The CWB left unchanged the malting barley values and increased those of feed barley in its 2010 Pool Return Outlook (PRO) for the 2010-11 crop year published on October, 28.

The values of select two-row and select six-row malting barley remained C$260/t and C$243/t, whereas that of feed barley of Pool A was increased by C$5 to C$232/t.

Malting barley supplies are tight this year, the CWB commented. With the late harvest, the quality and selectability of western Canadian malting barley is still being evaluated. However, it is clear that Canadian supplies are going to be much tighter than in recent years. Until the quality of the crop is determined by the selection companies, it will be difficult to estimate the potential impact on sales and pool returns.

Europe also experienced a disappointing harvest and the total amount of available malting-quality barley is significantly lower than in the past two years. The Australian barley crop is on track to be their largest in several years. If weather cooperates and the quality is good, it has the potential to put significant pressure on world malting barley prices. However, recent rains in eastern Australia are causing concern about the eventual amounts of malting barley available. Another factor will be the logistics in eastern and southern Australia, where barley will compete with record wheat production for capacity in the export pipeline.

On the demand side, customers have been slow to buy at current values. The largest global customer, China, has slowed purchases of new-crop malting barley, and will likely await new-crop Australian malting-barley supplies before resuming major purchases.

On the feed barley front, there have been no fundamental changes in the world supply-and-demand, and international barley prices have held their value, the CWB said.

29 October, 2010