Strategic Importance of Barley Production and Expectations for 2026

According to the analysis report prepared by the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, barley has a strategic importance in terms of the continuity of animal production as it is one of the basic feed resources. It is estimated that barley, which is used in the food industry as well as animal feed, was produced in 154.2 million tons in an area of ​​approximately 44.4 million hectares in the world in the 2025-2026 season. Last year, 6 million tons of barley was produced in Türkiye, with a decrease of 25.9 percent compared to the previous year, due to the effect of drought. During this period, barley cultivation areas and average yield per decare also decreased. When barley cultivation areas in Türkiye were listed on a provincial basis last year, Konya ranked first with 3.1 million decares. Konya was followed by Ankara, which has a barley cultivation area of ​​approximately 2.5 million decares. In line with crop production estimates, barley production this year is expected to increase by 50 percent compared to last year, reaching 9 million tons. The favorable climatic conditions seen in the 2025-2026 production season were effective in this increase expectation. This season, there were no extreme heat events in the regions where barley production was intense, and rainfall was above normal and above the previous year. Observations made in the field also determined that the plants showed healthy development. With these observations and favorable climatic conditions, it is evaluated that there is a significant increase potential in barley production for 2026. Considering that the use of forage in barley consumption in Türkiye is 85.9 percent in the 2024-2025 period, supporting barley production makes a great contribution not only to the protection of plant production but also to reducing roughage and concentrate feed costs in enterprises. When grain purchase prices are evaluated, the barley purchase price announced by the Turkish Grain Board for 2026 increased compared to last year. While this price was 11 thousand liras per ton last year, this year it increased to 12 thousand 750 liras, an increase of approximately 15.9 percent compared to last year. Barley is also among the products supported within the scope of production planning. Support for barley is provided under three headings: "basic support", "planned production" and "production development". The Ministry provides additional water constraint support to barley producers in basins where groundwater levels are found to be insufficient and there is water constraint.