March 10, 2009
Australian wheat stocks jump to 14.5 million tonnes at December 31
Stocks of Australian wheat surged to 14.5 million tonnes as of December 31 from 1.5 million tonnes September 30 as the annual harvest done mostly in the final calendar quarter wound down, the government's Australian Bureau of Statistics reported Tuesday (March 10).
Of the total wheat held by bulk grain handlers at the end of December, 12.3 million tonnes or 85 percent was milling grade, while the balance of 2.2 million tonnes or 15 percent was feed or another grade, the bureau reported in its monthly Wheat Use and Stocks publication.
In early March, the government's chief commodities forecaster, the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics, estimated national wheat production in the crop year ending March 31 at 21.4 million tonnes.
These figures suggest that more than one-third of the 2008-09 crop was being held on-farm, or elsewhere, at December 31.
Western Australia's Cooperative Bulk Handling Ltd. stored 6.1 million tonnes or 42 percent of the national total, while 4.5 million tonnes or 31 percent was held by bulk handlers in New South Wales, with bulk handlers in South Australia holding 1.7 million tonnes or 11 percent and Queensland-based bulk handlers 1.6 million tonnes, it reported.
Of the 1.8 million tonnes used in January, about 1.3 million tonnes was exported and 449,000 tonnes used domestically.
Domestic use of wheat grain continued to be the highest in New South Wales at 201,000 tonnes in January, while Western Australia remained the main exporting state with 792.000 tonnes shipped in January, compared with 236,000 tonnes exported from New South Wales and 133,000 tonnes from South Australia.
Of the wheat held by bulk handlers on January 31, 4.8 million tonnes were committed under contract, of which 3.3 million tonnes or 69% was destined for export and 1.5 million tonnes or 31 percent contracted for domestic use.
The bureau reported that the current scope and coverage of the data accounts for most of Australia's wheat grain stored, used and committed, but coverage of these collections might be expanded in the future.
