Rising demand from exporters and the domestic malt industries have sent the barley market on a bullish trajectory. In less than a month, the near-month contract for barley has jumped by over 22 per cent to an all-time high of Rs 1,344 a quintal. Commodity market sources said that there was still room for a further rally of Rs 30-40 a quintal.
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| The crop size for the current year is expected to be around 16 lakh tonnes, which will be 33 per cent more than the last year's 12 lakh tonnes. Marketmen had anticipated that prices would slip below Rs 1,000 a quintal-mark with higher output.
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| According to market sources, such a demand is normally seen in October-November. However, this year as soon as the new crop came in March, high demand (mainly from overseas market) did not let the prices come down.
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| Rajasthan-based traders said that so far exports have touched 250,000 tonnes. On the domestic front, poultry and malt industries are the two main consumers. Gurgaon-based malt industries consume around 350,000 tonnes per annum.
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| Abhishek Goel, a Jaipur-based trader, said, "Stocks are now lying with farmers and stockists. Since, the next crop will take another ten months to arrive, high demand will keep the prices strong." In Jaipur (delivery centre) the spot prices on Tuesday were reported to be Rs 1,290 a quintal.
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| According to Mumbai-based experts, with rising prices the export parity is shrinking. According to them, import of barley from Ukraine will cost a Gurgaon-based malt manufacturer around Rs 1,400 a quintal. Ukraine is the main competitor for India for the grain.
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| Amit Sachdev, Indian representative, US Grains Council, said, "Barley is a one-time crop in a year unlike maize. Earlier availability was throughout the year but on Tuesday the situation is totally different. If local industries do not stock for longer period, they will be in trouble as prices will be bullish in the days to come."
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| Almost 80-85 per cent of the processed barley is consumed by the beer industry whereas the rest goes to pharmaceutical industry for health related beverages. Market estimates suggest that malt manufacturers may fall short of their total requirement by around 150,000 tonnes.
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| Experts said that since farmers are fetching higher prices for their produce, in the coming season shifing of acreage under other crops cannot be ruled out. They said guarseed and wheat could be at the recieving end. |
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