Sweden expects an increase of 10 % to 340,000 ha, Finland a reduction of 10 % of malting barley varieties, Poland does not expect much of change, which means about 1 Mill: HA of spring barley, however, only 70 – 80,000 ha of malting varieties.

Acreage changes in the other EU countries will be minor and of no great importance to the S/D balance of malting barley in 2007/08.

Altogether a further reduction of malting barley plantings is likely, no relief to markets is within sight. Maltsters would like to rebuild their inventory by buying supplies for 13 to 14 months, which is seen as another support to markets.

Traders, maltsters and even brewers are nervous about the acreage devoted to spring barley. Estimates are: France plus 10 % = 550,000 ha, U.K. total acreage almost unchanged at 480.000 HA, but malting barley varieties up 35.000 HA, i.e. 390,000 ha, Denmark sharply down, estimates range from minus 50 to 80.000 HA, Germany sounds pessimistic, minus 5 – 8 %, i.e. 500 – 520,000 tonnes, Czech Republic about unchanged.

Agricultural Research Service scientists and their collaborators have released two new varieties and 50 germplasm lines of barley that resist all known types of Russian wheat aphid, the pest afflicting western Great Plains barley, Farm Futures published March 20.

The original RWA began damaging barley crops in the Plains in 1986, and five new races of the pest have been found since 2003. RWA has halted barley production in parts of eastern Colorado and Wyoming, and in parts of western Nebraska and Kansas.

The new varieties, named Sidney and Stoneham, are drought-hardy spring feed barleys. The scientists also released 36 spring germplasm lines of malting barley, and 14 germplasm lines of feed barley, seven each for spring and winter planting. They are the result of collaborative work between ARS, Colorado State University and the University of Nebraska.

The new varieties and germplasms come from a 12-year project led by ARS plant geneticist Dolores Mornhinweg and geneticists Phil Bregitzer and Donald Obert. Their objective is to introduce RWA-resistant genes to every commercial barley type grown in the United States.

A total of 4,442 tonnes of Czech hops were exported to 44 countries last year, a fall of 15.4 percent from 5,249 tonnes in 2005, secretary of the Czech Hop Growers' Association Zdenek Rosa told Czech News Agency, March 15.

He said a record crop in 2005 and lower harvest in 2006 are to blame for the fall in exports. Japan is the biggest buyer accounting for more than 44 percent of exports last year, Rosa said. Hops are supplied to Germany and Britain. Exports rose to China, Russia, Belgium and Slovakia last year. Breweries in Romania, Belarus, India, the USA, Ukraine, Cuba and Vietnam are also major customers.

Hops exports amounted to Kc812m and imports stood at Kc116.4m, said Rosa. Hop growers harvested 5,453 tonnes of the crop last year, down 30.4 percent year-on-year. A per hectare yield of 1.01 tonne was 0.37 tonne lower than in 2005. The harvest had been affected by the spring floods, long winter, cold late May and early June, and tropical heat in July.

By area of hop fields, the Czech Republic ranks third in the world after Germany and the USA.