AUSTRALIA exported 418,075t of feed barley, 47,807t of malting barley and 395,370t of sorghum in June, according to the latest data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

On feed, the June figure was down 22 percent from the May total of 534,560t, and Saudi Arabia on 184,000t, Japan on 155,090t and Thailand on 32,571t were the three biggest markets.

The malting figure represents a drop of 25pc from the May total of 63,725t, and Mexico on 33,000t, South Korea on 9000t, and Singapore on 2527t were the major markets for June shipments.

On sorghum, volume has dropped 10pc from the May peak of 440,921t.

China on 275,462t accounted for 70pc of June shipments, with 60,000t to Kenya and 30,000t to Sudan the second and third-biggest markets.

Flexi Grain pool manager Sam Roache said the feed barley shipment figure for June shows a continued drift lower in volume to the lowest level seen since January.

Barley exports continued to drift lower for June, with feed barley volume the lightest since January 2023 and malting the lowest since February.

“That was back when everyone thought there was no malt quality around,” Mr Roache said.

“The story of the slow slowdown on exports is the same as last month and the month prior; Saudi demand is soft, with a lack of fresh business reported for a long time.

“Russian barley remains extremely cheap, with prices of US$180-200/t fob the norm over the past few months, which has also undermined the demand profile of Aussie feed.

“From a malting standpoint, we are running low on stocks here and seasonally the demand shifts to European producers who are just out of harvest and more aggressively priced, slowing our exports.

“Notably though, EU quality is reportedly a mess, with pinching from a dry finish and more recently sprouting from a wet harvest across many areas taking its toll on selection.”

Sales surge as China reopens

Mr Roache said Australian growers and traders who have held on to barley should benefit from the big news of last Friday that China was on the weekend removing its tariffs on Australian barley.

“From an export perspective, everything will change quickly, and China will become the focus of the market.

“Today we see strong demand from China for bulk and container shipments, both for immediate shipment and the new-crop period.

“We estimate that at least 250,000t has already been sold in bulk, plus significant container business.

“Export margins for barley are now leading other commodities, which will see elevation capacity allocated to barley and good replacement bids continue in most areas.”

Sorghum exports continued strongly with China continuing to underpin the major volume and interestingly Sudan and Kenya showing up for a significant volume of 90,000t in a month.

“Sorghum in Africa has significant human consumption demand, with many staples including porridges and flatbreads made from the grain and flour.

“Sorghum is the primary source of calories for hundreds of millions of African people.

Mr Roache said sorghum exports were expected to continue strongly into Aug-Sep before stocks start to run low and the shipping program switches to new-crop wheat.

“China will continue to lead the way on demand, despite the heady highs on price of earlier in the year being behind us.

“For Africa, we should continue to see this demand, which is indicative of local shortages and is likely to be filled at least in part from Australia.”

FEED	Oct-Dec	Jan-Mar	Apr	May	Jun	TONNES
Hong Kong	21	24	0	12	0	57
Iran	64305	0	0	0	0	64305
Italy	0	0	6	0	0	6
Japan	308922	217359	91644	105203	155090	878218
Jordan	62788	187280	0	62073	0	312141
Kuwait	84095	146801	50235	0	0	281132
Macau	0	0	5	0	0	5
Malaysia	189	356		165	0	710
New Caledonia	1317	1211	0	0	415	2944
New Zealand	9113	0	0	0	0	9113
Oman	19269	20892	20704	0	0	60865
Papua New Guinea	100	0	50	0	25	175
Philippines	26123	195330	1016	1754	1645	225868
Qatar	170750	52500	0	52500	22000	297750
Saudi Arabia	798322	677889	42549	126325	184000	1829085
Singapore	4	5	2	1	4	15
South Korea	47605	2710	510	2032	959	53815
Taiwan	9859	3301	492	924	1537	16113
Thailand	2041	200766	91570	67323	32571	394270
UAE	52230	64188	49226	27000	6000	198644
Vietnam	36158	159181	121630	89249	13829	420048
TOTAL	1693210	1929793	469640	534560	418075	5045277

Table 1: Australian feed barley exports from 1 October 2022 to 30 June 2023. Source: ABS

MALTING	Oct-Dec	Jan-Mar	Apr	May	Jun	TONNES
Ecuador	6000	6000	0	5000	0	17000
Japan	28750	21000	20612	0	0	70362
Mexico	63002	94733	99000	0	33000	289735
New Zealand	0	2789	0	0	0	2789
Pakistan	0	0	0	0	595	595
Peru	16985	16943	0	17941	0	51869
Philippines	4655	1720	286	1727	605	8992
Singapore	13708	9230	2595	4116	2527	32175
South Africa	45000	15000	0	0	0	60000
South Korea	0	24287	0	0	9000	33287
Thailand	2976	3252	0	1078	960	8267
Vietnam	30179	40688	731	33863	1120	106582
TOTAL	211256	235642	123223	63725	47807	681652

Table 2: Australian malting barley exports from 1 October 2022 to 30 June 2023. Source: ABS

SORGHUM	Oct-Dec	Jan-Mar	Apr	May	Jun	TONNES
Cambodia	0	0	0	0	170	170
China	395487	272246	300322	434296	275462	1677813
Japan	42	45989	24297		26400	96728
Kenya	0	0	31050	0	60000	91050
New Caledonia	198	0	0	0	0	198
New Zealand	0	2	0	0	12	14
Philippines	3689	5257	881	1585	950	12362
South Korea	65	50	48	0	0	163
Sudan	0	0	0	0	30000	30000
Taiwan	10639	7130	4387	4864	2302	29321
Vietnam	675	100	74	176	75	1100
TOTAL	410795	330772	361059	440921	395370	1938918

Table 3: Australian sorghum exports from 1 October 2022 to 30 June 2023. Source: ABS

 

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