Wheat is added to the stack at GrainCorp’s site at Rainbow in the Victorian Mallee last month. Photo: GrainCorp

AUSTRALIA exported 2,213,001 tonnes of wheat in December, up 45 per cent from the 1,524,772t shipped in November, according to the latest data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).

China on 714,842t was the biggest customer by far, taking around one third of total exports, followed by Indonesia on 231,859t, followed by Japan on 173,933t and Malaysia on 172,202t.

In containerised exports, Vietnam on 60,236t was the biggest buyer, followed by Thailand on 25,316t and Taiwan on 25,024t.

Monthly totals are expected to increase further in January before peaking in February, as full volume from all states is achieved.

In its most recent Australian Export Vessel Lineups report, Lachstock Consulting said the February shipping stem holds 2.5 million tonnes (Mt) of wheat.

It described wheat as “the relative battler”, with pulse, canola and barley cargoes competing successful for time on terminal berths.

“With the recent performance and the shorter month, we can expect that Feb number to roll a chunk into March.

“If achieved…it would put the Western Australian number at 1.1Mt, a record for the season, and pushing above that magic number for the first time.”

Table 1: Containerised Australian wheat and durum exports for July to December 2021. Source: ABS

Table 2: Bulk Australian wheat and durum exports for July to December 2021. Source: ABS

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