The overall value of barley exports rose by an average 53.4% for all exporting countries since 2019 when total barley shipments were valued at $6.86 billion.
Exports of barley sold on international markets in 2023 flatlined via a 1.8% gain starting from $10.3 billion in 2022.
Barley is a traditional food ingredient used in soups, stews, breads and beverages. More recently, this major cereal grain has become a staple component for health foods. Barley is also used to ferment malt beer. A member of the grass family, barley has an additional food use serving as animal fodder.
The 5 biggest exporters of barley are Australia, France, Germany, Canada and Argentina. Combined, those 5 major suppliers generated almost two-thirds (65%) of all exported barley by sales during 2023. Such a high percentage indicates a relatively concentrated cohort of international barley suppliers.
Applying a continental lens, suppliers in Europe sold the highest dollar worth of exported barley during 2023 with shipments valued at $6.3 billion roughly three-fifths (59.8%) of total barley exports. In second place were exporters in Oceania’s Australia and New Zealand (21.9%), ahead of North America (8%) and Latin America plus the Caribbean (7.4%).
Smaller percentages came from providers in Asia (2.8%) and Africa (0.1%).
For research purposes, the 4-digit Harmonized Tariff System code prefix for raw barley is 1003 (which is the focus of this analysis). Please note that the HTS codes for rolled, flaked, pearled or otherwise worked barley are scattered under 6-digit subgroups attached to a 1104 prefix.
Barley Exports by Country
Below are the 15 countries that exported the highest dollar value worth of raw barley during 2023.
- Australia: US$2.3 billion (21.9% of total barley exports)
- France: $2.1 billion (19.6%)
- Germany: $926.5 million (8.8%)
- Canada: $826.8 million (7.9%)
- Argentina: $723.9 million (6.9%)
- Russia: $682.1 million (6.5%)
- Romania: $514.9 million (4.9%)
- Ukraine: $362.4 million (3.4%)
- Denmark: $324.8 million (3.1%)
- United Kingdom: $276.9 million (2.6%)
- Hungary: $267.6 million (2.5%)
- Kazakhstan: $264 million (2.5%)
- Czech Republic: $119.4 million (1.1%)
- Bulgaria: $119 million (1.1%)
- Poland: $116.9 million (1.1%)
By value, the listed 15 countries shipped 94% of global barley exported in 2023.
Among the top exporters, the fastest-growing barley exporters since 2022 were: Bulgaria (up 89.9%), Denmark (up 67.1%), Hungary (up 56.6%) and Kazakhstan (up 22.2%).
Those countries that posted declines in their exported barley sales were led by: Ukraine (down -18.9% from 2022), Argentina (down -17.1%), United Kingdom (down -8.6%), Czech Republic (down -4.6%) and Germany (down -3.4%).
Searchable List of Barley Exporting Countries in 2023
The 82 international suppliers in the automated database below represent 100% of barley exported around the globe during 2023.
| Rank | Exporter | Barley Exports | 2022-3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Australia | $2,300,586,000 | -2.1% |
| 2. | France | $2,059,139,000 | +11.9% |
| 3. | Germany | $926,528,000 | -3.4% |
| 4. | Canada | $826,809,000 | +2.2% |
| 5. | Argentina | $723,877,000 | -17.1% |
| 6. | Russia | $682,054,000 | +16.8% |
| 7. | Romania | $514,908,000 | +14% |
| 8. | Ukraine | $362,388,000 | -18.9% |
| 9. | Denmark | $324,782,000 | +67.1% |
| 10. | United Kingdom | $276,866,000 | -8.6% |
| 11. | Hungary | $267,600,000 | +56.6% |
| 12. | Kazakhstan | $264,036,000 | +22.2% |
| 13. | Czech Republic | $119,394,000 | -4.6% |
| 14. | Bulgaria | $118,978,000 | +89.9% |
| 15. | Poland | $116,944,000 | +16.5% |
| 16. | Sweden | $103,541,000 | +36.2% |
| 17. | Lithuania | $58,357,000 | +195.7% |
| 18. | Uruguay | $52,048,000 | -36.7% |
| 19. | Estonia | $47,105,000 | -36.6% |
| 20. | Netherlands | $36,744,000 | +26.9% |
| 21. | Slovakia | $34,007,000 | +4.7% |
| 22. | Portugal | $33,522,000 | +332.8% |
| 23. | Croatia | $33,287,000 | -16.5% |
| 24. | Spain | $28,886,000 | -40.9% |
| 25. | Belgium | $26,991,000 | +24% |
| 26. | Moldova | $26,214,000 | +234.7% |
| 27. | Latvia | $23,226,000 | +150.4% |
| 28. | Türkiye | $22,375,000 | -74.6% |
| 29. | Serbia | $20,269,000 | -48.5% |
| 30. | Austria | $19,599,000 | -32.3% |
| 31. | United States | $18,318,000 | +28.3% |
| 32. | Finland | $11,619,000 | +1324% |
| 33. | Ireland | $7,471,000 | -14.5% |
| 34. | Luxembourg | $3,442,000 | +24.5% |
| 35. | South Africa | $3,070,000 | +636.2% |
| 36. | India | $2,773,000 | +141.6% |
| 37. | Kenya | $2,696,000 | +51.2% |
| 38. | North Macedonia | $2,454,000 | -44.5% |
| 39. | Slovenia | $2,443,000 | -60.8% |
| 40. | Italy | $1,423,000 | -26.3% |
| 41. | Greece | $1,280,000 | +584.5% |
| 42. | United Arab Emirates | $1,120,000 | -98.4% |
| 43. | Zambia | $848,000 | 0% |
| 44. | Djibouti | $726,000 | +178.2% |
| 45. | Uganda | $718,000 | +110.6% |
| 46. | Afghanistan | $649,000 | -24.4% |
| 47. | Switzerland | $426,000 | -13.1% |
| 48. | New Zealand | $391,000 | +17.1% |
| 49. | Azerbaijan | $369,000 | -89.9% |
| 50. | Ethiopia | $224,000 | +700% |
| 51. | South Korea | $218,000 | -26.1% |
| 52. | Iran | $143,000 | 0% |
| 53. | Syria | $141,000 | -40.3% |
| 54. | Malaysia | $121,000 | +137.3% |
| 55. | Lebanon | $114,000 | 0% |
| 56. | Peru | $111,000 | -42.2% |
| 57. | Chile | $105,000 | +650% |
| 58. | Norway | $77,000 | -75.2% |
| 59. | Japan | $66,000 | -32% |
| 60. | Georgia | $54,000 | -94.1% |
| 61. | Curaçao | $46,000 | 0% |
| 62. | Ecuador | $36,000 | -33.3% |
| 63. | Algeria | $36,000 | -26.5% |
| 64. | Singapore | $33,000 | -78.3% |
| 65. | Egypt | $32,000 | +1500% |
| 66. | mainland China | $27,000 | -6.9% |
| 67. | Israel | $26,000 | -13.3% |
| 68. | Guatemala | $13,000 | +85.7% |
| 69. | Kyrgyzstan | $9,000 | -66.7% |
| 70. | Morocco | $9,000 | 0% |
| 71. | Bosnia/Herzegovina | $9,000 | -89.7% |
| 72. | Tanzania | $8,000 | 0% |
| 73. | Sri Lanka | $5,000 | +66.7% |
| 74. | Thailand | $4,000 | 0% |
| 75. | Indonesia | $3,000 | 0% |
| 76. | Laos | $1,000 | 0% |
| 77. | Hong Kong | $1,000 | -50% |
| 78. | Burundi | $1,000 | 0% |
| 79. | Costa Rica | $1,000 | 0% |
| 80. | Brazil | $1,000 | 0% |
| 81. | Trinidad/Tobago | $1,000 | 0% |
| 82. | Taiwan | $1,000 | 0% |
The fastest growers in terms of money collected from their barley exports are: Egypt (up 1,500% from 2022), Finland (up 1,324%), Ethiopia (up 700%), Chile (up 650%) and South Africa (up 636.2%).
Note that you can change the presentation order by clicking the triangle icon at the top of any of the columns above. An entry of 0% in the right-most column means 2022 data was unavailable.
Countries Exporting Most Barley by Shipment Weight
The worldwide total for barley shipped in 2023 was 38.3 million tons, up by 9% from 35.1 million tons in 2019. Year over year, global shipments rose by 17.3% from 32.6 million tons during 2022.
Listed below are the top 15 counties that exported the greatest amounts of barley in terms of shipment tonnage.
- Australia: 8,448,738 tons of exported barley (up 193.2% from 2019)
- France: 6,828,702 tons (down -4.8%)
- Germany: 3,612,929 tons (up 128.3%)
- Russia: 2,800,079 tons (down -28.8%)
- Canada: 2,431,229 tons (up 12.6%)
- Argentina: 2,284,181 tons (down -9%)
- Romania: 2,262,944 tons (2022 data unavailable)
- Ukraine: 2,161,969 tons (down -47.8%)
- Djibouti: 1,536,150 tons (2022 data unavailable)
- Kazakhstan: 1,303,698 tons (down -20.5%)
- United Kingdom: 931,471 tons (down -48%)
- Bulgaria: 525,295 tons (up 96.5%)
- Poland: 476,853 tons (up 474.6%)
- Czech Republic: 456,309 tons (up 91.8%)
- Sweden: 312,810 tons (up 42.5%)
- Lithuania: 234,488 tons (down -19.9%)
- Estonia: 173,247 tons (down -52.2%)
The strongest gainers from 2019 to 2023 in terms of physical shipment volume were Australia (up 193.2%), Germany (up 128.3%), Bulgaria (up 96.5%) then the Czech Republic (up 91.8%).
Average Prices for Barley by Major Export Countries
The worldwide average unit price for barley exports was US$275 per ton in 2023. That dollar average represents a -13.6% decrease from $318 per ton for 2022.
Listed below are average unit prices for the 15 of the top barley exporters worldwide. They are listed in ascending order starting with countries that exported the highest overall dollar value worth of barley.
- Australia: US$272 per ton of exported barley (down -5.9% from 2022)
- France: $302 per ton (down -8.5%)
- Germany: $256 per ton (down -17.9%)
- Canada: $340 per ton (down -10.3%)
- Argentina: $317 per ton (up 5.3%)
- Russia: $244 per ton (down -28.2%)
- Romania: $228 per ton (down -31.7%)
- Ukraine: $168 per ton (down -19.2%)
- Denmark: $309 per ton (same as 2022)
- United Kingdom: $297 per ton (down -13.9%)
- Kazakhstan: $203 per ton (down -21.3%)
- Czech Republic: $262 per ton (2022 data unavailable)
- Bulgaria: $226 per ton (down -36%)
- Poland: $245 per ton (down -25.8%)
- Sweden: $331 per ton (down -3.8%)
- Lithuania: $249 per ton (down -18.6%)
Average unit prices above the world benchmark of $275 per ton are charged by barley exporters in Canada, Sweden, Argentina, France and the United Kingdom.
The lowest average prices among the listed competitors apply to barley shippers in Kazakhstan ($203 per ton), Bulgaria ($226 per ton) and Romania ($228 per ton).
Countries Generating Greatest Surpluses Trading Barley
The following countries posted the highest positive net exports for barley during 2023. Investopedia defines net exports as the value of a country’s total exports minus the value of its total imports. Thus, the statistics below present the surplus between the value of each country’s exported barley and its import purchases for that same commodity.
- Australia: US$2.3 billion (net export surplus down -2.1% since 2022)
- France: $2 billion (up 11.6%)
- Canada: $814.8 million (up 10.2%)
- Argentina: $723.8 million (down -17.1%)
- Russia: $681 million (up 16.8%)
- Germany: $444.8 million (down -5.4%)
- Romania: $403 million (up 7.3%)
- Ukraine: $362.1 million (down -18.9%)
- Denmark: $294.6 million (up 137.8%)
- Hungary: $261.4 million (up 63.3%)
- United Kingdom: $237.9 million (down -14.6%)
- Kazakhstan: $208.2 million (up 7.8%)
- Bulgaria: $118 million (up 97.6%)
- Czech Republic: $102.7 million (down -7.8%)
- Sweden: $72.4 million (up 54.8%)
World-leading barley exporter Australia generated the highest surplus in the international trade of barley. In turn, this positive cashflow confirms both countries’ strong competitive advantages for this specific product category.
Countries Incurring Worst Deficits Trading Barley
The following countries posted the highest negative net exports for barley during 2023. Investopedia defines net exports as the value of a country’s total exports minus the value of its total imports. Thus, the statistics below present the deficit between the value of each country’s imported barley purchases and its exports for that same commodity.
- mainland China: -US$3.8 billion (net export deficit up 83.7% since 2022)
- Spain: -$866.9 million (up 111.5%)
- Netherlands: -$654.1 million (down -6.8%)
- Belgium: -$525.8 million (down -12.1%)
- Tunisia: -$500.2 million (up 77.6%)
- Türkiye: -$411.1 million (down -8.6%)
- Japan: -$392.5 million (down -11.4%)
- Jordan: -$331.4 million (down -21.2%)
- Saudi Arabia: -$315.7 million (down -77.5%)
- Morocco: -$281.7 million (down -10.9%)
- Brazil: -$244.8 million (up 2.9%)
- Thailand: -$192.5 million (up 605.1%)
- Italy: -$181.2 million (down -7.3%)
- Vietnam: -$177.8 million (up 9.5%)
- Colombia: -$143.4 million (up 0.7%)
Mainland China posted the highest deficit in the international trade of barley. In turn, this negative cashflow highlights strong Chinese competitive disadvantages for this specific product category but also signals opportunities for barley-supplying countries that help satisfy the powerful consumer demand.
Types of Barley-based Drinks
The following beverages are made with barley as one of the key ingredients.
- barley water
- barley wine
- barley-based soft drinks
- beer
- expresso-style hot drinks
- instant barley cereal drinks
- malt whisky
- malted milk
- roasted barley tea
- roasted grain beverages
See also Corn Exports by Country, Wheat Exports by Country, Rice Exports by Country and Top Fertilizers Exports by Country
Research Sources:
Central Intelligence Agency, The World Factbook Field Listing: Exports – Commodities. Accessed on August 25, 2024
Forbes Global 2000 rankings, The World’s Biggest Public Companies. Accessed on August 25, 2024
International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on August 25, 2024
Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on August 25, 2024
Wikipedia, general description of barley and its uses. Accessed on August 25, 2024
Wikipedia, List of barley-based beverages. Accessed on August 25, 2024