May 25, 2011

 

Australian wheat exports increase in 2011

 

 

Australia's wheat exports are off to a bumper start this marketing year, with Wheat Exports Australia (WEA) reporting that if exports continue at this pace, 2010-11 exports could be up to four million tonnes higher than 2009-10.

 

However, early production estimates for the coming 2011-12 season, put out by the Commonwealth Bank, suggest that this year's production could be down two million tonnes on last year's record, in spite of a shift out of barley into wheat.

 

WEA reported that in the first six months of the marketing year, from October 1 to March 31, 7.8 million tonnes of bulk wheat have been exported to 30 countries by 18 accredited exporters.

 

This is 2.6 million tonnes (51%) more than for the same period last year.

 

Exporting reached a peak in January, when total bulk exports of 1.6 million tonnes were the highest monthly export volume since June 2008 and half a million tonnes more than in the same month last year.

 

In spite of the drought, Western Australia continued to be the largest exporter of bulk wheat (2.7 million tonnes) in the first half of the marketing year, although the total bulk exports from that State were down by 17%.

 

Predictably, given its season, the biggest bulk wheat export growth was from South Australia, which exported almost four times the amount than in the previous corresponding period. Victoria also had a significant increase with bulk wheat exports up 265%.

 

Both New South Wales and Queensland also increased exports by 75% and 46% respectively.

 

The biggest demand for Australian wheat came from the Asian region with Indonesia, Bangladesh, Japan, Vietnam, and Korea importing more than 50% of Australia's bulk wheat.

 

Bulk exports to Bangladesh tripled in the first half of 2010-11 compared to 2009-10.

 

The Philippines imported almost 10 times more than during the corresponding period last year, a record total of 428,000 tonnes.

 

Exports to the Middle East have almost doubled, with bulk exports to Iraq bouncing back from the lows after the oil-for-food scandal to 454,000 tonnes or nine times the amount for the same period last year.

 

WEA said the strong start to the marketing year meant Australia looks set to exceed last year's total bulk wheat export volume of 12.1 million tonnes.

 

Forecasts from the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences (ABARES) estimates Australia's total wheat exports (bulk and container) for 2010-11 at 16.2 million tonnes.