February 5, 2021

 

China books millions of tonnes of barley from France and Canada

China books millions of tonnes of barley from France and Canada yet to be harvested, as the country aims to boost its livestock feed grains for its steadily recovering swine sector, Reuters reported.

 

Traders said China has booked a significant amount of Canada's 2021 barley crop, with one trader citing 1 million tonnes. That would be in line with the 1 million tonnes of new-crop European barley that may have been sold.

 

Another source said France would supply the volume from Europe. One trader said it would be up to 2 million tonnes while others said the sales were on an optional basis and could be partly sourced from Ukraine.

The traders said the shipments are booked for July to September. 

 

China's purchases have pushed prices up for key crops and to global food inflation, as governments and industry stock up over food security concerns amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

 

Benchmark corn prices have reached record levels unseen in 7 ½ years.

 

China is looking to plug its barley supply gap after tensions with Australia resulted in an 80.5% tariff on Australian barley.

 

Traders and analysts said early 2021 barley crop sales to China were for livestock feed.

 

Helene Duflot, an analyst at Strategie Grains, said Canadian and European barley will contribute to livestock feed supply as China anticipates its upcoming corn harvest and keeps its high Australian barley tariffs.

 

Duflot estimates barley imports to China will exceed 10 million tonnes for the first time, on the back of increased feed grain use and high domestic prices.

 

The International Grains Council projects China's 2020/21 barley imports at 5.8 million tonnes, while the United States Department of Agriculture estimates it to be 7 million tonnes, which would put China behind Saudi Arabia in barley imports.

 

China's imports of French barley have already hit 1.8 million tonnes in the 2020/21 marketing year, exceeding the 1.5 million tonnes in 2019/20.

 

Strategie Gains expects a near record 2.8 million tonnes of French barley to exports to China, even after a slow Lunar New Year period.

 

Barley could surpass French wheat exports to China too. France sold 1.5 million tonnes of wheat to China in the first half of the season, but traders said China has not confirmed new crop deals for the rest of 2020/21 possibly because they may be importing some Australian wheat.

 

Canada exported 1.5 million tonnes of barley to China between August to December last year, matching the previous season's total volume, according to official data.

- Reuters