RIYADH: Saudi Arabia, one of the world’s largest importers of barley, expects to reduce imports of the grain to 8 million tonnes this marketing season from 9.1 million tonnes in the previous season, the head of the country’s main state grain buying agency said. The decline is due to Saudi Arabia’s efforts to partially substitute domestic consumption of barley with maize (corn) and soybeans, said Ahmad al-Fares, governor of the Saudi Grains Organisation (SAGO).
Feed barley prices have risen in recent weeks due to falling international supply, and the market could become tighter as major exporters Russia and Ukraine are expected to prioritise wheat and maize exports, respectively, over barley. The usual price discount for barley against milling wheat has been eroded, with a barley purchase by Tunisia on Tuesday showing prices close to those paid for wheat by Egypt in a separate tender on the same day. SAGO’s governor added that he expected global barley prices to fall from current levels towards the end of this year or early next year due as additional supply comes to the market. The U.S. Department of Agriculture forecasts that world barley stocks will fall to 18.6 million tonnes at the end of the current 2017/18 season, the lowest level since 1983/84.
