A total of 372,274t of barley (unmilled) were imported into Ireland in 2018, according to the Central Statistics Office (CSO). This is an increase of 105% on the year before when 181,516t were imported.

The massive increase in imports was no doubt largely contributed to by the increased consumption of animal feed during the drought of the 2018 season.

Merchants and mills may also have been making provisions for a possible Brexit. Planning ahead to have feed supplies after March 29 is essential.

A large percentage of this imported barley was also destined for the malting industry, but the CSO could not differentiate between that intended for feed and malting.

Data source: CSO

Average cost per tonne

In 2018 the value of these imports was estimated at €75,078,000 by the CSO, meaning that the average price per tonne of barley was €201.67/t.

This is a dramatic change to 2017, when this figure was much lower at €163.40/t.

These figures are the landed cost of the products and do not include transport to the mill, merchant or farm.

Malting barley most likely cost significantly more than feed and therefore would drive up the average price per tonne.

Where did it come from?

The imports came from 12 different countries, mainly from Europe, but in 2017 a small amount came from the United States.

A staggering 78% (141,209t) of this barley came from Great Britain in 2017, while in 2018 the amount of that grain that traveled the short distance across the water accounted for 65% (243,259t) of the total barley imports.

This raises concerns on the consequences of a hard border in the event of a ‘no-deal’ Brexit, as a tariff of €93/t could apply to imports.

AgriLand must stress that this raw data was provided by the CSO and indicates trends, some figures may be subject to change.

Stay tuned to AgriLand for more on these figures!