August 24, 2007

Australia's AWB confirms finished 2006 crop wheat sales
 

Australia's majority wheat exporter AWB Ltd. will not have any more wheat available for export until after the new crop harvest gets underway in October, company spokesman Peter McBride said Friday (Aug 24).

AWB received 3.2 million tonnes into its collective export sales pool from the drought-reduced harvest late in 2006 and "all of it is either sold, shipped, priced or allocated," he said by telephone.

The 2005 pool is also all but finished with the company planning to distribute to growers the final 4 percent of returns in October, he said.

While shipping old crop wheat is continuing, wheat exports by AWB will only resume after the harvest, which usually is all but ended by Christmas, he added.

Despite AWB's bare cupboard, the nation has not completely exhausted supplies as millers, livestock feeders, other end users and traders continue to hold stocks of wheat and other grains.

Total grain held in storage facilities operated by major bulk grain handling companies fell 15 percent on-month in June to 7.19 million tonnes, the government's Bureau of Statistics reported late July.

Stocks of wheat fell 15 percent on-month to 4.98 million tonnes, barley stocks shed 12 percent to 1.41 million tonnes, while others including oats, triticale, sorghum, pulses and oilseeds slipped 21 percent to 798,000 tonnes.

The next issue of the bureau's series Stocks of Grain Held by Bulk Handling Companies and Grain Traders for July is scheduled for issue Aug 28.