Harvesting at Kulin in WA. Photo: Tim Barndon Jnr

WESTERN Australian bulk handler CBH Group has received more than 20 million tonnes (Mt) of grain for the first time ever this harvest after passing the milestone on December 29.

With 2.1Mt delivered in the fortnight to January 2, the CBH intake now stands at 20.4Mt.

While many growers have now finished harvest for the season, CBH Group acting chief operations officer Mick Daw acknowledged there was a lot more grain still to be delivered, especially in the Albany zone.

“Christmas gave everyone involved with harvest a brief break, but the job is far from done,” Mr Daw said.

“There could be another couple of million tonnes to be delivered, based on the industry forecast.

“We need to stay focused on getting the remaining crop in safely and efficiently for our growers, clean up sites and transition to outloading.”

The Russian wheat tax is now at US$94.90/t and, based on current values, is likely to increase to $98.80 for the second half of January.

This has resulted in Russian wheat being uncompetitive in a number of markets, providing opportunities for Australian wheat to displace a proportion of Russian wheat in key South-east Asian and Middle Eastern markets.

While a positive for Australian wheat, these taxes do not historically last, and any change to the tax may have a negative impact on wheat values.

The barley market is still very quiet, with little interest from the feed sector outside of the Middle East.

While there is optimism that South-east Asia will be a buyer in the near term, this demand may not be evident until after the Chinese New Year.

Following is a round-up of conditions in each CBH zone:

Albany Zone

The Albany Zone has now broken its all-time receival record, with deliveries slowed down by the Christmas break and harvest bans.

Seven sites have broken their daily receival records, and 14 sites have broken their all-time receival records.

This includes Cranbrook, which over the weekend surpassed the previous site record of just over 470,000t.

Most growers in the zone are delivering wheat and barley.

All primary sites are still open and receiving grain, although some segregations are full and closed.

Mores sites will fill and close this week.

Esperance Zone

Most growers in the Esperance zone have finished harvest, and receivals have tailed off since Christmas.

Key primary sites with capacity will remain open into 2022 to receive the remaining grain.

Geraldton Zone

Receivals in the Geraldton zone have decreased significantly since Christmas, with most growers finishing harvest for the year.

A few primary sites will remain open for receivals into January to service the remaining growers in those areas.

Kwinana North Zone​

The Kwinana North Zone has received a record amount of grain to date at 4.97Mt.

Although receivals will continue into 2022, only the major sites will remain open to receive the rest of the crop.

​Kwinana South Zone

A number of sites in the zone will remain open into January, especially in its southern districts.

Some sites will fill and close within the next week.

Source: CBH Group