Markets

Australia exports record 3.8Mt wheat in March

Liz Wells May 5, 2023

Wheat being delivered direct to vessel at Cargill’s Port Adelaide facility in March. Photo: Leigh Fuller

AUSTRALIA exported 3,785,436 tonnes of wheat and durum in March, up 25 percent from 3,038,804t shipped in February, according to the latest data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

The figure is believed to set a new monthly record for Australian wheat exports.

In containerised exports, China on 96,070t and Vietnam on 80,458t were the biggest markets for March shipments by far, with Thailand on 34,495t in third place.

Total containerised exports of wheat in March at 314,857t were up a hefty 40pc from the February total, with the China figure up 69pc and accounting for 39,334t and much of the lift.

Containerised shipments to The Philippines, Taiwan and Thailand also jumped by more than 50pc.

Ahead of the UK-Australia Free Trade Agreement coming into effect, containerised wheat exports posted almost tripled to 3957 in March, up from 1370t in February, and much less in preceding months.

In bulk exports, China’s appetite for Australian wheat seems to know no bounds, and at 1,038,798t was up 59pc from the 651,788t shipped in February.

The second-biggest market for bulk Australian wheat exported in March was Indonesia on 317,148t, followed by Vietnam on 306,172t.

Thailand on 291,947t, The Philippines on 290,126t and South Korea on 280,092t were also major volume buyers.

Bulk export figures include the two biggest durum cargoes for the current marketing year, with 21,838t heading to Italy and 31,500t bound for Spain.

BOXED Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Tonnes
China 6614 7217 25353 61972 56736 96070 253963
Fiji 0 163 0 0 0 0 163
French Polynesia 370 252 618 250 0 0 1490
Hong Kong 0 257 0 0 257 584 1097
Indonesia 13856 17399 13570 15756 10169 13255 84005
Japan 0 0 21 0 700 3208 3928
Malaysia 24457 28898 20650 26145 22158 27041 149350
Myanmar 2254 2026 2575 3738 3752 500 14845
New Caledonia 2046 2769 2553 2789 3313 2857 16327
New Zealand 3215 1963 2850 3825 2985 1474 16312
Papua New Guinea 995 1028 350 425 0 1152 3950
Philippines 6847 2011 3774 4157 5580 13194 35563
Saudi Arabia 0 0 0 382 448 0 829
Solomon Islands 0 1502 1003 1511 2185 931 7132
South Korea 3494 40 200 46 0 1186 4966
Sri Lanka 0 78 0 125 0 0 203
Taiwan 32262 24955 28710 30444 21842 33494 171706
Thailand 30655 14669 23914 27231 21624 35495 153588
UK 614 482 496 647 1370 3957 7567
Vietnam 76452 60776 41358 74114 71778 80458 404936
DURUM
Indonesia 2 0 0 0 0 0 2
TOTAL 204135 166483 167994 253558 224895 314857 1331923

Australian containerised wheat and durum exports from 1 October 2022 to 31 March 2023. Source: ABS

BULK Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Tonnes
Algeria 0 0 0 0 30348 0 30348
Bahrain 0 27501 0 23318 0 26858 77677
Bangladesh 0 0 0 19602 22349 21196 63147
China 419204 363607 838340 878215 651788 1038798 4189952
Egypt 56859 0 0 0 0 51615 108474
Fiji 9885 0 26650 10500 30003 0 77038
India 0 0 0 34000 0 0 34000
Indonesia 438282 345637 365321 507563 220205 317149 2194158
Iraq 0 0 0 154401 55000 209300 418701
Japan 67685 159465 125544 62200 148479 84577 647950
Jordan 0 0 63000 0 0 0 63000
Kenya 0 0 0 27500 0 0 27500
Kuwait 0 44000 88191 0 43600 44000 219791
Malawi 1000 0 0 0 0 0 1000
Malaysia 11039 65547 49343 99747 117250 107781 450708
Mauritius 0 24200 0 0 0 25099 49299
Mozambique 9001 0 0 0 56100 0 65101
Myanmar 29612 0 17269 0 24200 28175 99256
New Zealand 31803 95304 17043 93818 60814 50948 349730
Nigeria 54999 0 0 0 0 0 54999
Oman 0 0 12900 0 85000 0 97900
Papua New Guinea 38800 29371 0 43095 0 0 111266
Philippines 192171 254865 290263 328049 187715 290126 1543189
Qatar 0 0 0 0 21000 20637 41637
Rwanda 11700 0 0 0 0 0 11700
Singapore 0 0 0 22000 0 0 22000
South Africa 0 0 0 0 44000 55000 98999
South Korea 299307 55000 299050 297576 255500 280092 1486526
Taiwan 0 0 211 0 257 0 468
Tanzania 23305 0 0 0 0 0 23305
Thailand 2488 499 57999 102488 300275 291947 755697
Turkiye 0 0 0 0 0 66000 66000
UAE 0 11070 38303 29750 11989 49330 140441
Vietnam 0 130669 129460 77746 291052 306172 935100
Yemen 105500 0 68946 185627 156985 52440 569499
DURUM
Bangladesh 0 0 10238 0 0 0 10238
Italy 0 0 0 0 0 21838 21838
Spain 0 0 0 0 0 31500 31500
TOTAL 1802640 1606734 2498074 2997196 2813909 3470579 15189130

Australian bulk wheat and durum exports from 1 October 2022 to 31 March 2023. Source: ABS

 

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