February 27, 2008

 

US supplying more than half of feed barley sold in Japan's tender

 

 

US producers will be supplying 54 percent of feed barley sold to Japan's Simultaneous Buy and Sell (SBS) programme, according to a press release from the US Grains Council.

 

Japan's Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) recently held its first 2008 Simultaneous Buy and Sell (SBS) programme

 

The tender amount announced by MAFF was 241,000 tonnes of feed barley but the actual tendered quantities were 179,095 tonnes, Cary Sifferath, USGC director in Japan said, adding that unused allocations will be rolled into future SBS tenders.

 

USGC/Tokyo has estimated the results for the first SBS feed barley tender in 2008 to include 97,595 tonnes from the United States and 74,000 tonnes from Canada, with the rest being sourced from Argentina, Sifferath said.

Sifferath said during the last five tenders of 2007, China had consistently tendered small amounts of feed barley, but due to government intervention did not sell barley to Japanese buying groups.

 

He also noted that Argentina stepped in as a small player.

 

China's restrictions on grain exports has kept Chinese feed barley out of the SBS tender for the first time in 10 months, but Argentine barley is now trading during this tender, he said. 

 

The US has also seen additional competition from Argentine sorghum and corn in Japan over the last half of 2007, said Sifferath.

 

Australian barley did not make an appearance at the tender due to limited supplies as they are waiting for their new crop.

 

This is a similar situation the US would soon be moving into, as its new crop would only be harvested in August.

Still, the first SBS feed barley tender of 2008 is a good start, Sifferath said.

 

Japan has been using SBS for feed barley imports since 1999. USGC/Tokyo estimates that 490,010 tonnes of US feed barley were sold to Japan's SBS feed barley tenders of 2007, a market share of around 44 percent.