Archive Article: 1999/01/15

15 January 1999

Its a record… Barley goes aboard the MV Arctic, the biggest grain vessel ever seen on the Tyne. Its 52,500t cargo – some free-market and some from intervention – is destined for Saudi Arabia, a joint venture between Glencore and Grainco. After a busy start to the season, shipping has slowed with the UK uncompetitively priced, says Glencores Robert Kerr. "Exports are dwindling by the day." Intervention, which holds barley prices "artificially" high, is partly to blame, he says.