Harvesting sorghum in Queensland in June. Photo: Sizer & Cogill

AUSTRALIA exported 350,477 tonnes of barley in August, down 4 percent from 364,954t shipped in July, according to the latest data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

While August feed barley exports of 256,151t are down 11pc from the July total of 288,226t, malting shipments at 94,326t are up 23pc on the month.

As expected, August figures reflect China’s return to the market, and for the first time since 2020 it has appeared as a destination for malting as well as feed barley.

On feed barley, Japan on 166,427t was the major destination for August exports, followed by Vietnam on 78,732t and Taiwan on 3826t.

China on 54,188t was the top destination for malting exports, followed by Mexico on 33,000t and Vietnam on 3513t.

Sorghum exports were little changed in August, with 274,555t shipped, down 2pc from 280,837t in July.

China remains the dominant market for sorghum, and was the destination for 237,459t, or 86pc, of August shipments.

Japan on 31,585t and Taiwan on 3990t were the second and third-largest destinations respectively for Australia’s August sorghum exports.

Flexi Grain pool manager Sam Roache said feed barley exports were slightly lower for August, limited by traders and growers holding back from sales in the preceding months waiting for China’s tariffs to be removed.

“As we all know, we got the nod early August and we have seen significant business since, including some containers of feed barley and a Supramax of malt shipped in August, which is a very quick turn-around,” Mr Roache said.

The China shipment made August Australia’s biggest month for malting barley exports for some time.

“Questions in the market around stock access and limitations relating to quality and customs controls from China have been very quickly pushed to one side, with significant old and new-crop sales from all exporting states, and most bulk handlers on the books.

“We see total barley shipments accelerating rapidly…with shipping stems indicating a five-fold increase in shipments to 500,000t plus in September and 700,000t plus in October.

“This is very supportive of our view that more than 1.5 million tonnes of barley exports have been sold since the tariff removal announcement in early August.

“As we move into harvest, we expect this pace to continue to increase, with 1Mt months likely on the cards for barley shipments and 85pc plus market share for China very likely.”

Mr Roache said the new business on sorghum was limited, and stocks of current crop were dwindling as prices remained high.

“Looking forward, we are seeing significantly lower crop expectations which, along with high feedgrain prices, will curtail sorghum exports versus the heady highs we have seen recently.”

Table 1: Australia feed barley exports for June, July and August 2023. Source: 2023

Table 2: Australia malting barley exports for June, July and August 2023. Source: 2023

Table 3: Australia sorghum exports for June, July and August 2023. Source: 2023

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