AUSTRALIA exported 646,580 tonnes of bulk and 90,187t of containerised wheat in July, both up from the June totals, according to the latest export data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).

Australia is a long-term supplier of wheat to Yemen. Photo: UN World Food Programme

In the bulk market, Yemen was the biggest customer by volume with 113,300t, followed by Vietnam on 92,020t, and Japan on 81,624t.

In containerised exports, China on 22,842t, followed by Vietnam with a steady 17,367t and Malaysia on 11,328t, were the biggest markets.

Market Check head of strategy Nick Crundall said ABS July wheat export data came in as expected, with exports tracking fairly strong relative to the poor season.

“Considering we’re now in the back end of the 2018-19 season, export forecast totals are all but locked in, so the market is putting less emphasis on this data as we track towards 2019-20,” Mr Crundall said.

“WA did the heavy lifting, while Yemen made its first purchase in a few months, and increased its total for the season to 466,000t, down about 50 per cent from its five-year average.

“Indonesia clocked another month of disappointing Australian imports, as it continues to illustrate an ability to substitute Aussie wheat for cheaper origins.”

Mr Crundall said volumes of containerised wheat exports have been stable over the past few months, tracking at around 90,000t each month.

Table 1: ABS containerised Australian wheat exports for May, June and July 2019.

Table 2: ABS bulk Australian wheat export data for May, June and July 2019.