Early barley yield results significantly outperform last year's levels

Ukraine has officially launched its 2026 barley harvest. As of June 26, 2026, growers harvested 34,000 hectares, with total production reaching 135,000 tons, according to ASAP Agri.

The average yield stands at 3.98 t/ha, significantly higher than the 2.49 t/ha recorded on the same date in 2025. Harvesting is currently concentrated in Ukraine's southern regions, where the campaign began about a week ago.

Ukrainian barley is currently offered at $210/t FOB at deep-water ports, while Russian offers are around $205/t FOB. However, buyers expect prices to decline further to $200/t FOB as harvesting also gets underway in southern Russia, according to Daria Marchenko, broker at Atria Brokers.

Ukrainian barley is losing competitiveness against Moldovan supplies on European markets, said Dmytro Kromkin, a broker at Atria Brokers.

"Moldovan sellers are offering barley at around $190/t FOB Danube, while Ukrainian offers are currently in the $200–203/t FOB range," he said.