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Bulgarian barley: sluggish local trade

May 31, 2017 at 9:01 AM , Starry Night Ltd.
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Available acreages for harvest much smaller this year. No exports seem to loom on the horizon. With the upcoming harvest a few weeks away, depending on the regions of the country, barley is going either through its flowering stage or lactic ripeness stage of development.

 Farmers to harvest smaller acreages this year

SOFIA. Barley seems to have lost position in the cultivation strategies of local farmers.  According to the Agricultural Ministry, by the 18th of May 2017, available for harvest plots stood at 129,768 ha, which is 20.4% less than available plots from season 2016-17.  The drop on a yearly basis is drastic although average prices of closed deals, since the beginning of the previous marketing season, have been following an upward trend; starting from about 0.122 EUR/kg EXW and reaching as much as 0.139 EUR/kg EXW Bulgaria.

Exports seem to be inextricably linked to cultivation decisions

According to the Ministry of Agriculture, by the 26.05.2017, exports from harvest 2016-17 reached 373,796 mt. Most probably, this year’s exports will not be able to break the 400,000 mt level since remaining quantities will undoubtedly go to satisfy local demand before the new crop becomes available. For comparison, exports during harvest 2014-15, reached 550,000 mt while those of year 2015-16 were close to those of the previous year, according to the USDA report on Bulgarian grain.  

By the 21.05.2017, exports via Varna seaport accounted to 17,379 mt, which is about 88.3% less than what was exported, via the same trade route, a year ago.

The table below provides a view of barley harvest 2016-17, as well as, its domestic and foreign development trends.

Harvest 2016-17

(beginning of harvest till 19.05.2017)

Carry over

4,900mt

Domestic output

693,565mt

Domestic consumption

294,400mt

Exports to the world

373,796mt

 Source: Bulgarian Ministry of Agriculture

By the end of the fourth week of May 2017, remaining stocks stood at 45,990 mt.

Barley, Bulgaria

Type

EUR/kg

feed barley

0.138

CPT domestic port

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