Barley: Glutted out

COMMODITY SPIKES

With arrivals in mandis across Haryana and Rajasthan rising, barley futures showed signs of cooling in the week gone by. Experts see sluggish prices next week as arrivals increase further.

Moreover, market reports suggest that export demand may not be able to push prices up as Ukraine, the traditional source of barley for West Asian countries, supplying export demand adequately. Till a week ago, a few malt companies procured the grain which provided some support to the market.

However, the procurement process has slowed down with the likelihood of slack exports this year. Firms in Gurgaon are waiting for prices to slip further before entering the market. In Haryana, the second largest producer after Rajasthan, arrivals are reported to be around 1 lakh bags each of 80 kg.

Estimates suggest that this year's crop output is around 15-20 per cent more than last year's. Traders anticipate a sharp decline in rates the next fortnightand could drop to as low as Rs 950 a quintal in the spot markets.

On the National Commodity and Derivatives Exchange, the near-month contract closed on Saturday at Rs 1,100 a quintal, down from the previous week's close of Rs 1,158 a quintal.