In this guide to understanding barley as a commodity, we’ll explain why it’s valuable, and describe how it’s grown and what it’s used for.
Read on to see what drives the price of barley and what experts think about the future of the commodity. We also list the countries that produce the most rice and explain what drives its price.
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What Is Barley Used For?
Barley is used in many industries, though it’s basic use cases can be defined in three distinct categories:
| Uses of Barley | Description |
|---|---|
Human Food Source | Barley can be prepared a number of different ways:
|
| Beverages | Barley is a key ingredient in whiskey and beer production. Barley is also used to make flavored waters and teas. |
| Animal Feed | Barley is used as feed for livestock. In northern climates such as Canada, parts of Europe and the northern United States, barley is more popular than corn as animal feed. Barley is also used to make high-protein fish food. |
Data last reviewed:
What Is Barley?
Barley is a cereal grain that contains many important nutrients and vitamins. It is characterized by its rich nutty flavor and chewy consistency.
Barley is one of the oldest grown cereal grains. Historians believe its origins trace to Egypt, Ethiopia, the Near East, or Tibet, but the exact location is debatable.
Middle Eastern farmers grew barley prior to 10,000 BC, and China began cultivating the crop around 1,000 BC.
What Makes Barley Valuable?
Barley serves as an important food source for humans and animals and a key ingredient in some alcoholic beverages. This versatility makes it a vital grain commodity in international markets.
Here we’ll give you all the details about barley as a commodity including how it’s grown, what it’s used for, which countries are most important to barley trading, and what factors affect its market price.
How Is Barley Grown?
Barley grows best in environments with cool ground temperatures.
Barley farmers plant their crops in two growing seasons – winter and spring. October is the ideal month to plant winter barley, while January is the best month for the spring variety.
Barley requires well-drained soil and full sunlight to grow. Farmers grow crops in rows about 10 to 12 inches apart. Spring barley ripens in about 60 to 70 days, while fall barley ripens about 60 days after spring growth begins.
This relatively quick ripening process makes barley ideally suited for crop rotations with other grains such as wheat.
Top Barley Producing Countries
The European Union is the largest producer of barley. It grows nearly three times the amount of barley as Russia, which is the second-largest producer.
The world’s largest barley producers include:
| Rank | Flag | Country | Thousands of Metric Tons |
|---|---|---|---|
| #1 |  | European Union | 58,765 |
| #2 | | Russia | 20,500 |
| #3 | | Ukraine | 8,700 |
| #4 | | Australia | 8,000 |
| #5 | | Canada | 7,250 |
| #6 | | Turkey | 7,000 |
| #7 | | Iran | 3,100 |
| #8 | | United States | 3,090 |
| #9 | | Argentina | 2,750 |
| #10 | | Kazakhstan | 2,700 |
Data last reviewed: Warning: data published 5 years ago. Verify before relying on it.
The European Union, Russia and Australia top the list of countries that export barley.
Which Countries Import The Most Barley?
| Rank | Flag | Country | Thousands of Metric Tons |
|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | | Saudi Arabia | 9,000 |
| #2 | | China | 5,500 |
| #3 | | Iran | 1,300 |
| #4 | | Libya | 1,300 |
| #5 | | Japan | 1,100 |
Data last reviewed: Warning: data published 5 years ago. Verify before relying on it.
Barley has many health benefits, which account for its popularity as a food source in many parts of the world.
In addition to containing many nutrients including manganese, molybdenum, selenium, and B vitamins, eating barley has other benefits:
- Lowers Cholesterol
- Provides intestinal protection
- Protects against atherosclerosis
- Provides cardiovascular benefits
- Substantially lowers the risk of type 2 diabetes
- Prevents gallstones
- Protects women against postmenopausal breast cancer
What Drives the Price of Barley?
The price of barley is usually highly correlated with the price of other grains such as corn and wheat.
Many of the supply and demand factors that move barley prices affect agricultural commodities in general including:
- Global Production
- The US Dollar
- Emerging Market Demand
- Substitution Effect
- Weather
- Health News
Global Production Of Wheat
The global supply of barley is a key determinant of its price.
Political factors, such as crop subsidies in certain countries can have a significant effect on prices.If governments in key suppliers such as the European Union decide to end subsidies of major agricultural commodities, then farmers will shift their production accordingly.
How Does The US Dollar Impact Barley Prices?
The US currency is the world’s reserve currency. As a result, barley and other agricultural commodities are quoted in US dollars.
Barley producers receive fewer dollars for their product when the US currency is strong and more dollars when the currency is weak.
Factors such as US interest rates, trade surpluses/deficits, unemployment, and GDP can all impact the value of the dollar versus other currencies.
Emerging Market Demand For Barley
A substantial amount of import demand for barley comes from China and Middle Eastern countries. As the Chinese economy expands, its demand for agricultural commodities will grow.
Similarly, India and emerging countries in Africa and the Middle East will require more food to feed their people as their economies grow.
As emerging market countries grow wealthier, their consumption of meat will likely increase. Since barley is used as livestock feed, its price should respond favorably.
Of course, if emerging economies suffer economic setbacks, then barley prices could decline.
Substitution Effect: Alternative Crops
Barley competes with other grains such as wheat and corn as dietary staples.
If the price of barley rises significantly higher than these other grains, then consumer preferences might shift toward consuming lower-priced alternatives.
Of course, if barley prices are significantly lower than competing grains, then consumers might increase their barley consumption. These changes in demand can impact barley prices.
Weather Impacts On Barley Farming
Weather patterns can have a significant effect on crop prices, and barley is no exception. Barley grows best in cool, dry regions.
Extreme heat, extreme cold, or excessive rainfall could limit production and potentially send prices for barley much higher.
Health News On Barley
Barley has received considerable positive attention for its health benefits.
Unlike other agricultural commodities such as soybeans, barley has remained free from negative publicity from the medical community.
As consumers continue to become more health conscious, barley consumption could rise in many regions throughout the world.What Do Experts Think About Barley?
Experts see mostly positive news for the agriculture sector including barley in the years ahead.
The USDA recently raised its Chinese import expectations for barley citing increased demand for feedstuffs.
Jim Rogers, the co-founder of the Quantum Fund and creator of the Rogers International Commodity Index, advocates trading in the agricultural commodity sector and believes it will make significant gains in the coming years.
You can open a chain of restaurants in the agricultural areas of the world because the farmers are going to be much more successful in the next 30 years than in the last 30 years.
Jim Rogers, Founder of Quantum Fund
Where Can I Trade Barley?
If you want to start trading barley, you can start your research with reviews of these regulated commodity brokers available in .
| Broker | Details | Sign up |
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 | User friendly platform and leading risk management tools. | Open Account Now Plus500 Review |
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 | Reverse trades up to 1 hour with dealCancellation. | Open Account Now easyMarkets Review |
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 | Up to 500:1 leverage for pro traders, share CFDs on stocks with no mark-up. | Open Account Now Pepperstone Review |
 | Proprietary technical analysis features. | Open Account Now Markets.com Review |
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Data last reviewed:
CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. Between 50.00%-86.00% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs. You should consider whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.
IMPORTANT: CFDs are not available in the USA.
Further Reading
To learn about different ways you can trade barley and which regulated brokers are available in , see this Barley Trading Guide.
Commodity.com has several other commodity guides on other grain and agricultural commodities like canola, rough rice, corn, and oats.
Interested in other agricultural commodities? See these guides on livestock like live cattle and lean hogs.
Update history
This page was revised 1 time in February 2021.
Rewrote introduction for clarity, added call-to-action section linking to trading guides and broker listings, and corrected content error referencing rice instead of barley.
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