September 10, 2004

Australia's AWB Sells About 90% Of Old Crop Wheat

Australian monopoly wheat exporter AWB Ltd. has sold about 90% of the 20 million metric tons in its collective sales pool from the old crop, Ryan McKinlay, a company spokesman, said Friday.
 
The company can now be selective in how it sells the remaining wheat in its sales pool, he stated.
 
AWB previously estimated national wheat production at 25.2 million metric tons last crop year ended March 31, 2004, of which it received about 80% for export, making the company a major global supplier.
 
David Johnson, AWB's pool manager, said the company now can turn its attention to marketing the new crop. It estimates new crop output in a range of 21 million tons to 24 million tons.
 
The next harvest gets underway in northern growing areas in October and ends near the south coast early in January.
 
"At this point in time there is a lot of export competition in the world, and a lot of suppliers in the Northern Hemisphere have had very good crops," Johnson said in a report posted on Australian Broadcasting Corp.'s Country Hour program Web site.
 
"The pricing outlook just at the moment isn't very strong, and we're well positioned to sit back and hopefully allow some of that competition to dissipate before we embark on our '04 marketing program in earnest," he said.
 
AWB reported in July a "strong sales and marketing program" for the old crop.
 
The company wanted to make as many sales in the calendar first half as possible to take advantage of some good pricing opportunities. Prices have weakened with the bumper Northern Hemisphere harvest.
 
AWB sells wheat collectively on behalf of growers through a pooling system.