Export prices for barley in Ukraine continue to rise

During the past week, export demand for feed barley in Ukraine remained quite high, which led to a further increase in prices at ports. At the same time, some traders have already purchased the necessary batches and suspended active purchases. Some companies have postponed the delivery dates under their contracts from July to August, therefore they also reduced purchasing activity, which at the end of the week reduced demand prices from maximum levels.

Export prices for barley in Ukraine increased by 300-400 UAH/t in a week to 10,000-10,100 UAH/t or $207-210/t with delivery to Black Sea ports, but for large batches with fast delivery, a premium price could be obtained.

As of July 18, 2.18 million tons of barley were threshed from 660.6 thousand hectares in Ukraine with a yield of 3.3 tons/hectare (compared to 3.76 tons/hectare last year), so forecasts of a decrease in the gross harvest are confirmed.

In addition, precipitation in the western regions of Ukraine has suspended harvesting, which will also not contribute to increasing supplies.

In the first 19 days of the 2025/26 season, Ukraine exported only 56,000 tons of barley, compared to 276,000 tons in the same period last year, which also indicates a delay in harvesting and sales.

Traders continue to buy barley at prices that exceed contract prices, so they are not ready to sell new barley lots on the world market. So farmers need to take advantage of high prices at the start of the season, as demand may collapse later.

Last week, feed barley prices were supported by a sharp increase in feed wheat prices by $5-6/t to $210-214/t against the backdrop of a small share of feed in the new harvest, which reduced the difference with food wheat prices.

Prolonged rainfall in the central and, especially, western regions of Ukraine will increase the amount of feed wheat and improve the condition of corn crops, which will restrain the growth of feed barley prices in the near future.

Tags: Ukraine, barley, prices