What is Barley?
Barley is a popular cereal grain in India also known as jau. It is used in many preparations of food after being converted into malt. It is used as food and fodder. It is primarily used in beer, feed manufacturing and food processing industries. The increased demand for beer has also increased the demand for barley. Moreover, more than 90% of malt production in the world happens from barley. Major producers of barley in the world are European Union, Russia, Ukraine, Canada, Australia, USA and Australia. Saudi Arabia is the largest importer of Barley in the world. In India, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh are major producers of barley.
Barley is thus the fourth most important cereal after rice, wheat and maize.
Also, in case of trade in coarse cereal, it comes second after corn.