August 31, 2007

 

Australian feed grain imports unlikely in 2007
 

 

Feed grain imports into Australia are unlikely in 2007, but the Department of Agriculture is prepared for the possibility, a spokeswoman for the department said Friday (Aug 31).

 

"Although it is unlikely, the department is prepared for the possibility that imports may be required in 2007 to supplement domestic feed supplies," the spokeswoman told Dow Jones Newswires in a brief statement.

 

According to the spokeswoman, permits exist to import some feed grains, stock feeds and oilseeds assessed as manageable quarantine risks.

 

Over the past six months, several shipments of palm kernel meal have been imported to supplement dairy herd feed rations, she said.

 

The situation is being closely monitored, she added.

 

Concerns are mounting in Australia about the potential impact of dry weather on production from new winter crops, harvesting of which does not start until October.

 

Australian Stock Exchange January 2008 futures, the most active domestic milling wheat contract, soared early Friday to trade at A$378/tonne, up A$26/tonne from Thursday's close, and up 76 percent from a low of A$215/tonne early in April, with gains helped by sharp increases in world wheat prices.

 

Australia's stocks of grain are falling rapidly after a drought in 2006 slashed production from winter grains by more than 60 percent.

 

Wheat output fell to 9.8 million tonnes last crop year ending Mar 31, way down from 25.4 million tonnes previously.

 

Exports and domestic use since the 2006 harvest have run down national inventories.

 

Tuesday, the government's Bureau of Statistics reported that total grain stocks held in storage facilities operated by Australia's major bulk grain handling companies fell 25 percent on-month in July to 5.41 million tonnes. Stocks of wheat fell 29 percent on-month to 3.53 million tonnes and barley stocks shed 23 percent to 1.08 million tonnes, while others including oats, triticale, sorghum, pulses and oilseeds were unchanged at 798,000 tonnes.

 

The bureau's data does not measure total grain stocks held in Australia, as figures from regional or small storage operators or farmers are not captured in this series.

 

Stocks of winter grains typically decline steadily through the year on the back of exports and domestic use, before starting to rise when harvesting begins in October to peak in December or January.