AUSTRALIA exported 1,298,659 tonnes of barley and 10,944t of sorghum in December, according to the latest data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

Feed barley shipped in December totalled 843,260t, up 60 percent from the 525,609t shipped in November.

China on 731,748t was the biggest market by far, taking 87pc of Australia’s December feed barley shipments.

Japan was the second-biggest for the month for feed barley, taking 103,858t, and Taiwan came in thrid on 1695t.

Malting barley shipments at 455,399t were up 31pc from the November total of 346,624t, with China on 431,544t the destination for 95pc of the total.

Japan on 19,575t and Singapore on 3109t were the second and third-biggest markets respectively for December-shipped malting barley.

As is usual at this time of year, sorghum exports dwindled to reflect a rundown in stocks ahead of new crop.

December sorghum shipments totalled 10,944t, with China the destination for 7841t.

Taiwan on 3005t and The Philippines on 98t were the only other two destinations for December-shipped sorghum.

Flexi Grain pool manager Sam Roache said December barley exports lived up to high expectations.

“This was the largest month for multiple years, possibly since the Chinese tariffs, and equates to more than 20pc of our annual barley export figure for this season,” Mr Roache said.

“Within the number, we saw Chinese percentage creep higher, towards 90pc, and the malting percentage also increase, both largely per expectations.

“Going forward, we expect FAQ and malt to make up the majority of shipments. and China to continue to dominate the buying.”

Mr Roache said the pace of barley exports in January and February was expected to continue to impress, underpinned by the furious pace out of Western Australia and South Australia.

“Come March forward, WA and SA exports will slow significantly as they begin to run lower on stocks, leaving the majority of the Australian program to Victoria, which will likely be the only state with reasonable stocks for export in Q2, 3 and 4.”

Mr Roache said China’s imports and demand have far exceeded early predictions, with current pace suggesting total barley imports will dwarf USDA early predictions of around 8 million tonnes.

“That said, today we see significant economic concerns continuing to mount for China, which is seeing buyers sit back a bit, especially over the Chinese New Year period.”

Mr Roache said the recent lower prices have seen Australian feed barley close to competing with Northern Hemisphere offers into the Middle East, and some malting business has recently been done into South America.

“This is a bit strange considering early export pace, and it is unlikely that we need to price secondary country export demand over the longer term.”

Sorghum for December was limited by dwindling stocks, along with the Queensland and New South Wales transport and elevation focus shifting to wheat.

“We have seen the market correct around A$30-40/t lower since our New Year, with significant rains in northern NSW and Qld bolstering production capacity and lowering or deferring local feedgrain demand.

“Following the correction, Australian sorghum sits well priced versus US and should see continuing solid export demand from China to move the crop.”

Table 1: Australian feed barley exports for October, November and December 2023. Source: ABS

Table 2: Australian malting barley exports for October, November and December 2023. Source: ABS

Table 3: Australian sorghum exports for October, November and December 2023. Source: ABS

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