Barley: Exports have leveled off
February 22, 2018 at 9:48 AM ,
Starry Night Ltd.
BULGARIA. Barley is the crop that is usually harvested first among all of its counterparts such as wheat, rapeseed, etc. throughout the country. Usually, the farmers within the Southeast region collect the highest output of the grain, followed by those from the regions within the North. Because of its earlier harvesting schedule, the grain is quickly bought out after farming, and since quantities produced annually are relatively small, in the few months after active trade, substantial quantities for exports are implausible to find.
Barley: as expected, exports have leveled off
For exports to continue uninterruptedly so far in the marketing season, local market intermediaries should have availability of stocks. The country is a comparatively small regional producer of barley, and as a result, exports skyrocketed early in the season to level off in the few following months.
|
Harvest 2017-18 (01.07.2017 - 16.02.2018) units in MT |
|
|
Beginning availability |
22,000 |
|
Aggregate output |
633,393 |
|
Imports |
5,314 |
|
Domestic consumption |
198,000 |
|
beer production |
49,500 |
|
feed |
148,500 |
|
Exports to the world |
273,157 |
|
to EU markets |
245,332 |
|
to rest of the world |
27,825 |
Source: Bulgarian Ministry of Agriculture
Tough regional competition has always influenced local market sentiments, compelling local farmers to reduce barley acreages throughout recent years, adapting their cultivation strategies to other more profitable crops. For the upcoming harvesting season, farmers are supposed to enter fields of 109,800 ha planted with barley, which on a year-to-year basis is by 16.6% lower, according to local authorities. Whether directly playing with the supply side to influence price expectations, farmers will reap what they sowed remains to be seen since the local market does not exist in a vacuum. Yet, one thing is certain: they have a Winter season to go through before declaring a half victory. And the weather has not been quite favorable so far for farmers throughout the country, as warmer for the season temperatures alternate with low ones so late in the season. Higher rates of precipitation fell in some regions, and forecasts predict snowfalls in some places during following days. Yet, although general conditions of grains look good, the mild Winter is disheartening!
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