Ukraine actively trades with old crop barley, which is in demand globally. Prices may rise further in the near future. However, a significant increase in barley supply from France is expected in the new season.

This issue was discussed today during the analytical briefing of the First Ukrainian Agricultural Cooperative (FUAC), created within the UAC.

“We are actively trading with old crops, and in April we have exported about 200,000 tons. We have already contracted 180,000 tons for May, of which at least one ship will be sent to China. Therefore, barley prices are not falling, and may even grow. Another growth factor will be the price difference between corn and barley: corn is again more expensive by USD8-10 per ton, which makes barley more attractive for buyers. Notional prices may increase by USD2-3 per ton in the near future, and CPT prices may reach USD157-158 in a week. The prices of processors are in the range of 5,400-5,500 UAH/t,” - analysts said.

However, in the new season, barley may fall in price.

“Barley production is expected to grow by 11 million tons in the EU. They are sowing a lot of spring barley in areas where they failed to sow winter crops. In particular, this applies to France, where many areas were not sown with winter crops and are now sown with barley and corn. Therefore, France is already actively selling the new harvest, in particular to China, as there may be a surplus of barley. That is, in the second half of June, prices for Ukrainian barley may also decline,” the FUAC predicts.

The conditional prices for the new harvest of Ukrainian barley are USD150-155/t CPT port, USD165-175/t DAP/CIF Constance.