Barley prices in France fell ahead of talks between China and Australia

French barley prices on Euronext fell sharply against flour wheat futures as China halted purchases ahead of a World Trade Organization (WTO) meeting where shipments of barley from Australia to China may be allowed, Agricensus reports.

On Friday, futures for the new crop on SRT-Rouen traded at a discount of 14-15 €/t compared to the December wheat contracts, having lost 12 €/t for the day. The last contract for new crop barley for delivery in July-August on CFR - China was registered at $317/t, after which trading activity decreased as Chinese buyers expect further price declines.

Demand from China has kept prices steady for several months, with French barley trading at 11% protein while the German barley spread has widened as the latter is not certified for delivery to China.

Hopes of an end to restrictions on Australian barley were raised in China earlier this year when it lifted an unofficial ban on coal imports from Australia. However, the import of barley is officially prohibited, and since May 2020, the Chinese government has imposed an anti-dumping duty of 73.6% and an anti-subsidy duty of 6.9% for a period of 5 years.

Australia has asked the WTO to review China's restrictions and will hold a meeting on the matter next week.

According to the Agricensus Export Dashboard, in 2022 China imported 4.8 million tons of barley, of which 2.12 million tons came from Argentina and 873,738 thousand tons from France.

In 2020, before the introduction of restrictions on deliveries from Australia, China imported 7.98 million tons of barley, in particular from Ukraine - 2.57 million tons, European countries - 1.96 million tons, Canada - 1.95 million tons, Australia - 1.46 million tons.