A cargo of barley loads at Bunbury for export in November. Photo: Bunge WA

AUSTRALIA exported 300,646 tonnes of barley and 32,641t of sorghum in November, according to the latest data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).

While the malting component of the November’s barley exports at 26,367t was down 29 per cent from the October tonnage, feed shipments rose 174pc to 274,279t.

Sorghum exports for November were down 4pc on the October total.

The volume buyers for the three commodities were Japan on malting barley, Thailand on feed barley and China on sorghum.

Market Check head of strategy Nick Crundall said November’s barley exports were the biggest monthly figure seen since April, with Thailand’s buying of feed continuing at an impressive rate.

“Even China managed to take 35,000t of our barley, despite the current rhetoric and tariffs in place,” Mr Crundall said.

“Looking on to December forward, export volumes are starting to better reflect the above-average supplies of the 2020-21 season, with volumes expected to nearly triple in December versus November.”

Table 1: Malting barley exports for September, October and November 2020. Source: ABS

Table 2: Feed barley exports for September, October and November 2020. Source: ABS

Table 3: Sorghum exports for September, October and November 2020. Source: ABS