The first cargo of French barley bound for the UAE in at least four years was loading on Friday in a new sign of brisk French exports fueled by attractive prices.

The Endless bulk carrier was loading around 40,000 tonnes of barley in Rouen before continuing along the north French coast to loading another 20,000 tonnes at Dunkirk where it was expected on September 18, port sources said.

There had been no French barley shipment to the UAE since at least 2009, port records showed.

The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) estimates UAE barley imports this season at 500,000 tonnes.

Some sources said part of the shipment was heading to Kuwait but that could not be confirmed by the port.

The export to the UAE comes after rare barley shipments were also reported to Jordan and Iran earlier this month.

In a sign of this strong demand, farm office FranceAgriMer this week forecast French barley exports outside the EU at 1.9 million tonnes in 2013/14, up 7.3 per cent from last season's 1.8 million tonnes that were already a 10-year high.-Reuters