In South Korea and Japan, consumers place high importance on the nutritional value of their food. The Council has worked with local industry to encourage the use of U.S. barley to meet this demand, helping to develop a growing niche market for specific varieties of U.S. food barley containing high levels of beta-glucan.

High beta-glucan barley contains heart-healthy properties that may reduce cholesterol, the risk of heart disease and glycemic index. Those nutritional properties make U.S. varieties of food barley attractive for food producers in North Asia.

With the Northern Crops Institute (NCI) at North Dakota State University (NDSU), the Council hosted a webinar in early 2021 for product developers of leading health food and confectionary manufacturers in Korea and health-oriented food barley millers and processers in Japan.

By learning more about the health benefits of barley, attendees willingly expressed their interest in developing new barley products using U.S. barley. Additionally, four Korean companies requested barley and barley product samples for product development at the end of the webinar.

In the 2020/2021 marketing year, Japan purchased roughly 18,300 metric tons (841,100 bushels) of barley and barley products, while South Korea purchased 4,210 metric tons (193,500 bushels).