A crop of Shotgun wheat in the Mallee which started on a full moisture profile. Photo: Matt Witney, Dodgshun Medlin

AUSTRALIA exported 2,086,312 tonnes of wheat, including durum, in May, according to the latest Australian Bureau of Statistics data.

The figure is up 46 percent from the 1,431,658t shipped in April.

In containerised exports for May, Taiwan on 24,518t, Thailand on 22,545t and Malaysia on 15,420t were the three biggest markets.

In bulk, The Philippines on 463,897t, Indonesia on 416,321t, and Yemen on 316,423t were the three biggest markets.

May saw the only cargo for the season to date of durum to Italy, which a 31,500t shipment to Algeria in March the other only bulk shipment of durum.

In its latest wheat supply-and-demand report released on Friday, Lachstock Consulting said current season export pace has continued to under-perform, a reflection of Australian wheat being uncompetitive into most homes as the Northern Hemisphere harvest nears.

“This has seen carry-out grow by 630,000t as exports are trimmed, reflecting this slower pace,” the Lachstock report said.

“Domestic consumption markets are slow, with most consumers now covered into September, and while growers are still relatively sticky, liquidity has improved and pressured market lower.”

Lachstock now puts Australia’s 2025-26 wheat carry-out at 7.97 million tonnes (Mt), compared with just 2.57Mt in 2024-25, and the highest since the record 8.93Mt in 2010-11.

Lachstock is now forecasting Australia’s new-crop production at 31Mt, up by almost 1Mt over the month due largely to improved yield prospects across southern Australia.

Lachstock early last month forecast June wheat exports at 1.87Mt.

Table 1: Containerised Australian wheat and durum exports for March, April and May 2026. Source ABS

Table 2: Bulk Australian wheat and durum exports for March, April and May 2026. Source ABS

Grain Central: Get our free news straight to your inbox – Click here