UK barley exports keep up good pace
© Tim Scrivener UK barley exports continue at a good pace, with 26,000t of UK feed barley heading to Algeria through Gleadell Agriculture’s Immingham export facility.
The 900 or so lorryloads it will take to fill the MV Sea Brave (pictured) will help to shift the estimated 1.8 million tonne barley surplus produced by the 2015 harvest.
The most recent official figures for UK barley exports show almost 620,000t exported between July and the end of November 2015, compared with about 560,000t in the same period the previous season.
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However, the trade estimates that about another 230,000t has been loaded and shipped since the end of November, bringing the total to about 850,000t.
Large shipments to non-EU destinations offered growers about a £2/t premium over the price paid for grain to fill smaller boats bound for other EU member states, said Jonathan Lane, Gleadell’s trading director.
Feed barley is currently worth £93-£100/t ex-farm spot. With the recent fall in the value of the pound, UK wheat is now competitive on export markets.
“There have been quite brisk exports on wheat but it’s a real challenge finding demand,” said Mr Lane.