Barley hits Rs 1,000 mark

Bullish coarse grains market worldwide causes price rise.

The barley futures today crossed and closed above Rs 1,000 a quintal after a long lull. Marketmen and commodity analysts termed it as a ripple effect of the bullish coarse grains market, maize in particular.

The market is expected to remain firm in the near future despite weak local fundamentals.

"The bullish global maize and wheat markets have shown its impact on barley. With the possibility of a firm maize market till February-March, barley may go further up," said a Mumbai-based commodity market expert tracking coarse grains.

Marketmen in Rajasthan said barley futures could go up to Rs 1,075-1,100 a quintal. The current trend is a reminder of the rally which saw the commodity zoom from the levels of Rs 700 a quintal to the historic high of over Rs 1,300 a quintal in the latter half of the last year following a spurt in demand from Saudi Arabia.

The acreage under barley as on December 28, 2007 is up 12.19 per cent at 7.18 lakh hectares against last year's 6.4 lakh hectares. This could result in a good crop output for 2008-09. The arrivals are expected to begin by the first half of March.

According to initial market estimates, the country could see an overall output of 1.61 million tonnes against last year's 1.34 million tonnes.

Meanwhile, the maize futures market is expected to reach the levels of Rs 840-850 a quintal and the spot market is seen at Rs 810 a quintal.

On the National Commodity and Derivatives Exchange, the post harvest futures (April contract) closed at Rs 1,022 a quintal compared to the previous close of Rs 994 a quintal.

The last fortnight has seen a rally of over Rs 100.