CANADA is importing about 100,000 tonnes of Australian barley this year to compensate for deficits left by last year’s drought. There could be more to follow.
The sales are part of a remarkable period when China, the world’s biggest malting barley importer, closed the door in 2020 to Australian barley imports.
Since the 1990s, Australia has been one of China’s biggest, if not its biggest, export supplier.
World markets have also felt the impact from last year’s drought in Canada, which has reduced its exportable surplus, and caused it to make atypical purchases from Denmark and France, as well as Australia to shore up domestic requirements.