Markets

Australia’s Aug barley exports drop 4pc, sorghum 2pc

Liz Wells October 11, 2023

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.”

FEED Jun Jly Aug Tonnes
China 0 0 1501 1501
Hong Kong 0 12 0 12
Japan 155090 0 166427 321517
Malaysia 0 171 175 346
New Caledonia 213 154 301 667
Papua New Guinea 25 25 25 75
Philippines 1645 2764 3002 7411
Qatar 22000 52263 0 74263
Saudi Arabia 184000 0 0 184000
Singapore 4 0 0 4
South Korea 661 1408 784 2853
Taiwan 1537 2174 3826 7538
Thailand 32571 210782 1377 244729
UAE 6000 14850 0 20850
Vietnam 13829 3623 78732 96185
TOTAL 417575 288226 256151 961951

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

MALTING Jun Jly Aug Tonnes
China 0 0 54188 54188
Ecuador 0 7330 0 7330
Japan 0 19570 0 19570
Mexico 33000 30502 33000 96502
Pakistan 595 398 0 993
Peru 0 14185 0 14185
Philippines 605 271 932 1808
Singapore 2527 3233 2163 7922
South Korea 9000 0 0 9000
Taiwan 0 498 0 498
Thailand 960 487 531 1978
Vietnam 1120 254 3513 4887
TOTAL 47807 76728 94326 218861

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

SORGHUM Jun Jly Aug Tonnes
China 267405 215520 237459 720384
Japan 26400 61085 31585 119070
Kenya 60000 0 0 60000
New Zealand 12 0 0 12
Philippines 771 983 1521 3275
Sudan 30000 0 0 30000
Taiwan 2302 3149 3990 9442
Vietnam 75 100 0 175
TOTAL 386965 280837 274555 942357

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

 

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