AUSTRALIA’S exports of malting and feed barley in July totalled 255,048 tonnes, down 54 per cent from 553,742t in June, according to the latest data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), while July sorghum exports in July totalled 119,987t, up 23pc from the June figure of 97,931t.

Barley harvesting in WA.

Trade sources expect August barley exports will be down even further, as shipments from Western and South Australian ports continue to make their way to Brisbane and Newcastle.

These ports are jointly unloading an estimated 200,000t per month of wheat and barley in total from southern ports to supply drought-hit end-users in southern Queensland and northern New South Wales.

On sorghum, shipping stems indicate bulk shipments are over for 2018.

Table 1: ABS malting barley export figures for May, June and July 2018.

Table 2: ABS feed barley export figures for May, June and July 2018.

Table 3: ABS sorghum export figures for May, June and July 2018.