Australian wheat exports fall in June, barley rises

Australia's wheat exports fell in June because of lower demand in parts of southeast Asia and Yemen, but barley exports rose because of a rebound in Chinese demand.

Wheat

Wheat exports dropped by 21pc on the month to 1.26mn t in June from May, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). Shipments to Vietnam and Malaysia increased on the month, up by 77pc and 62pc respectively, offsetting lower demand from the Philippines and Korea.

Volumes shipped to Indonesia fell by 160,000t to 55,000t,while volumes shipped to Yemen fell by 101,000t from May to 55,000t in June.

Demand from China remained at low levels of 135,000t in June, mostly unchanged from May and from monthly levels during the October 2023-September 2024 marketing year. Average wheat export to China was approximately 450,000 t/month in October 2023- May 2024.

China's current forward buying is limited compared with a year earlier, according to market participants.

Barley

Barley exports almost doubled on the month to 726,000t in June because Chinese demand rebounded by 277,000t to 530,000t. Vietnam booked its largest monthly barley shipment in the November 2023-October 2024 marketing year at 49,000t.

Australia is on track to exceed the US Agricultural department's (USDA) current estimate of 6.9mn t for barley exports for the November 2023-October 2024 marketing year. Australia requires about 215,000 t/month in July-October to meet the USDA target, but the country has been exporting about 755,000 t/month over November 2023-June 2024.

By Edward Dunlop