February 14, 2011
Australia halves 2010-11 total wheat yield as livestock feed
Australia will be downgrading 12 million tonnes of its wheat to livestock feed grade, out of an approximate 24 million tonnes of its total wheat harvest this crop year after December's flood damage to ripe crops.
This was according to Rabobank on Friday (Feb 11), as compared the downgrading of wheat with the usual long-run average of 30%.
However, the downgrading in the quality of wheat will result in only minor impediments to Australian trade flows given the tightness in global quality milling wheat supplies, it said.
Actual wheat production estimates in this crop year ending March 31 are scheduled to be updated next Tuesday (Feb 8) by the government's chief commodities forecaster, the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences. In December, Abares estimated national output this crop year at a record 26.8 million tonnes.
The composition of the 2010-11 crop, including the proportion of grading milling wheat for human consumption or feed for livestock use, is keenly awaited.
Earlier this week, general manager for commodities at exporter AWB Ltd., Mitch Morison, said Australia has plenty of wheat available from the harvest, which is now ending, "and it's probably better quality than we thought we had."
On Tuesday (Feb 8), the government's Bureau of Statistics reported that as of December 31, wheat stored by bulk grain handlers more than doubled from a month earlier to 18.21 million tonnes, up 2.4% from a year earlier.
Of the total stored wheat, milling grade accounted for 11.31 million tonnes, or 62% of national inventories, while feed grades accounted for the rest. In December 2009, feed grades accounted for just 14% of wheat stored by bulk handlers.
