Glacier FarmMedia – The Western Canadian feed market remains under pressure, with barley bids stuck in a steady downtrend.
“Barley continues to decline slightly week after week and even day to day,” said Alberta-based Agfinity in a Feb. 29 market report. Large barley stocks and continued imports of corn from the United States accounted for the weakness, according to the brokerage, with any pricing opportunities quickly filled by growers before they disappear.
Agfinity placed current barley pricing in Lethbridge at around C$265 per tonne for March/April delivery, with pricing C$10 above that for May to July delivery. New crop bids were pegged at C$275 to C$280 per tonne.
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Prices for barley delivered into southern Alberta have gone down by about C$7 to C$8 per bushel over the past week, according to Prairie Ag Hotwire data.
U.S. Department of Agriculture export data for the week ended Feb. 22 shows that Canada has already imported 564,900 tonnes of U.S. corn during the marketing year that began Sept. 1. That’s roughly double the accumulated imports at the same time the previous year. There are an additional 242,600 tonnes of corn on the books slated to move later in the crop year – which compares with 207,800 tonnes of outstanding sales at this time.
Meanwhile, Canada’s own barley exports are running well behind the year-ago pace, with 1.16 million tonnes moved through 30 weeks of the marketing year, which compares with 2.08 million tonnes at the same time in the 2022/23 crop year, according to Canadian Grain Commission data.
Looking ahead, while the nearby trend remains pointed lower, seasonal price patterns are typically supportive for barley heading into the spring as uncertainty over new crop production brings in some risk premiums. Early indications point to acreage declines in both Canadian barley and U.S. corn, with the ongoing dryness concerns across much of Western Canada another possible supportive influence.
— Phil Franz-Warkentin is an associate editor/analyst with MarketsFarm in Winnipeg.
