A 60,000t barley cargo bound for China loads at Bunge’s Bunbury terminal late last year. Photo: Bunge

AUSTRALIA exported 1,421,656 tonnes of barley and 15,072t of sorghum in January, according to the latest data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

The barley and sorghum figures are both up 16 percent from December’s 1,221,350t and 12,957t respectively.

China on 600,060t accounted for two-thirds of the 902,119t of feed barley shipped in January, with Saudi Arabia on 107,050t and the United Arab Emirates on 52,884t the next biggest markets.

China on 485,142t accounted for 93pc of January’s 519,537t malting barley exports, with Peru on 18,592t and Ecuador on 7250t the second and third-biggest markets respectively.

McDonald Pelz senior broker Sam Roache said barley shipments for January look like an outright monthly shipment record.

“This is further confirmation of the record barley demand noted by the market and sets the scene for an increasingly likely record export program,” Mr Roache said.

“February and March barley shipped and stems are already suggesting similar numbers should be expected going forward, so this isn’t an isolated month.”

Table 1: Australian feed barley exports for November and December 2025 and January 2026. Source: ABS

Table 2: Australian malting barley exports for November and December 2025 and January 2026. Source: ABS

Table 3: Australian sorghum exports for November and December 2025 and January 2026. Source: ABS

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