Barley

A hardy temperate cereal grown mainly for animal feed and malt, traded in large volumes to the Middle East and China.

Grains · No. 88

• Not on a critical list
• HHI 520 · unconcentrated

Barley feeds beer, whisky and, in Saudi Arabia, camels, whose hunger worried rulers during the 2008 food crisis.

Chart: Illustration: Barley

Where it comes from

Chart: Map of where it comes from

Barley is among the hardiest cereals, coping with cold, drought and salty soils better than wheat. World output was 142.0 Mt in 2024.

Three things to know

1. World barley output was 142.0 Mt in 2024, still below the 179.1 Mt harvested in 1990 after Soviet livestock herds shrank.
2. China took 39.9% of world barley imports in 2024, for brewing and pig feed, and Saudi Arabia 9.6%.
3. In 1974 the five big grain merchants handled 90% of Canada's barley exports.

The journey

1. 1 Cool farmlandWinter or spring barley sown
2. 2 HarvestCombine harvested and dried
3. 3 GradingSorted into malting or feed quality
4. 4 MaltingSteeped, germinated and kilned, or milled
5. 5 End usesBeer, whisky and livestock feed

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