Shaping a bunker as it fills with wheat at Hillston in south-west NSW. Photo: Yen Chu, GrainCorp

AUSTRALIA exported 273,651 tonnes of containerised wheat and 3,057,527t in bulk in January, according to the latest export data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

Total January wheat shipments at 3,331,178t were up 25 percent from the 2,663,123t exported in December, and also the 2,660,888t exported in January 2022.

The surge represents the delayed start in earnest to Australia’s 2022-23 wheat harvest, following an unusually mild and wet spring, and rain into December for many regions.

In the boxed market, Vietnam on 79,263t followed by China on 65,260t and Taiwan on 32,0403t were the biggest markets.

In bulk, China on 878,765t retained its position as the largest market by far, with Indonesia on 507,563t and South Korea on 352,576t in second and third place.

Appearing in the bulk export destinations for January is India, typically the world’s second-biggest producer of wheat behind Russia, and a sometime exporter if it produces a comfortable surplus.

As outlined in a Grain Brokers Australia column published last month, India’s buoyant production outlook is subject to climactic variables, and the Indian Government is keen to keep a lid on food inflation ahead of the country’s election in May.

That means India could indeed by importing rather than exporting in coming months.

Table 1: Australian containerised wheat exports for November and December 2022 and January 2023. Source: ABS

Table 2: Australian bulk wheat exports for November and December 2022 and January 2023. Source: ABS

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