Boortmalt is offering growers a forward price of €250/t for next season.

The price, indicative of the current buoyant market, will be paid on next year’s grain, but farmers must lock in on the price offer by next Friday 19 November. Growers can sell up to 20% of their tonnage for 2022, a figure based on “historical average yield”, which effectively is the tonnage contracted/delivered in recent years.

It is a record forward price for barley, and may attract growers concerned at the rocketing price of fertiliser, which will hit margins hard. Pesticides have been increasing in price too, in part on the back of good local and global cereal prices.

The comparative early-season forward price for the harvest gone by was €200/t, offered this January. The 2021 harvest price for barley not sold forward was €237.67, based on the average FOB Creil malting barley price across each week of the season from 15 April to September.

Boortmalt, the second largest maltster in the world, continue to evolve its Irish business. Since buying Greencore Malt in 2011, Boortmalt, wholly owned by French co-op Axareal, has doubled the tonnage of malting barley being purchased and processed at its Athy maltings, in which it has invested heavily.

However, it has closed most of its intake points across south Leinster, and has entered into various arrnegements with other merchants renting premises.

Growing area

The growing area has been extended as far as Cork and Donegal, with a loosening of grower contracts. Last year, Wexford merchants Cooladine Grain became the first official secondary assemblers of malting barley for Boortmalt.

Boortmalt is the exclusive supplier of malt to Guinesss Ireland, its biggest Irish customer. As well as brewing malt for Guinness, Budweiser and others, it produces distilling malt for many of Ireland’s spirit distillers.