E-Malt.com News article: 1792

EU malt export licence bookings for July-October, 2003 are 1.265 million tonnes versus 775,000 tonnes at the same time last year. The comparison is distorted by panic bookings earlier in the campaign, this year's figures neither reflect sales done nor the pace of shipments.

Malt export shipments in 2002 had been more than 2.3 million tonnes, licence bookings during the grain year 2002/03 only 2.0 million tonnes. Maltsters are afraid that exports during 2003/04 may hardly reach the 2 million mark.

Sales to Russia, Japan, Brazil and Venezuela are lagging behind last year's figures. In the larger import markets malt prices have not recovered, since the dumping battle started two months ago. Prices around EUR 250,- FOB Antwerp, in bulk, for two-row spring barley malt and about EUR 5,- less for six-row winter barley malt, are so low that a good number of maltsters decided not to participate in a recent sales round. Those prices leave malting margins in the neighbourhood of only EUR 50,- per ton. One should imagine that the change in the Euro/U.S.$, parity played a major part in the difficulties to sell malt from the EU, but the major wounds were inflicted by competition amongst the Europeans themselves.

(in tonnes)	2000 - 2001	2001 - 2002	2002 - 2003	July 1, 2003 - October 28, 2003
France	523,190	701,134	661,772	412,150
Germany	305,980	468,314	408,063	161,018
Belgium	277,584	296,368	287,850	183,277
U.K.	254,793	350,621	294,995	317,574
Finland	65,550	91,890	100,758	42,932
Denmark	52,326	96,812	94,791	28,210
Sweden	50,847	101,000	76,916	43,596
Netherlands	54,835	51,310	66,219	49,721
Ireland	26,003	35,145	31,140	11,900
Austria	4,850	8,840	8,620	4,240
Spain	3,000	2,400	5,640	10,000
Greece	1,800	1,744	1,306	200
Portugal	340	221	85	219
Italy	-	-	2	-
Total:	1,621,098	2,205,799	2,038,157	1,265,037