Saudi Arabia issues new tender after barley buying tops $1 billion

Saudi Arabia was looking to buy more barley at tender Thursday, with state-owned buyer SAGO looking for 960,000 mt for delivery between April 1-May 15, having already spent over $1 billion to date in the 2017/18 marketing year.

This is the sixth barley tender SAGO has issued for delivery during the 2017/18 marketing year, with the total paid to date clocking in at $1.07 billion according to Agricensus data.

At its previous tender in mid-January, SAGO paid $212.42-$220.61/mt CFR, with a total of 624,000 mt heading to Red Sea ports at an average of $215.87/mt CFR and the balance of 378,000 mt heading to Persian Gulf ports at an average of $218.14/mt CFR.

Barley – which typically trades at a discount to the wheat market – has spiked in price this year due to global supply dropping 4 million mt to 144 million mt, according to the International Grains Council.

SAGO said Black Sea wheat is the cheapest global origin in a report published Tuesday, despite rising 0.5% on the week to $199/mt FOB.

German barley is 1% higher on the week at $205/mt FOB, while Australian barley is up 2.7% to $232/mt FOB.

The Agricensus Black Sea barley assessment shows a 7.4% rise to $204/mt FOB since the previous tender which closed on January 15.