December 15, 2003

 

 

Australia's AWB Cuts Estimated Returns For Wheat Sales

 

Australia's monopoly wheat exporter AWB Ltd. Monday cut its estimates of returns from sales of most types of wheat grown this crop year ended March 31, 2004.

 

AWB's benchmark new crop Australian Premium White type wheat of 10% protein now is estimated to return A$221 a metric ton, free on board and exclusive of a 10% goods and services tax, down A$3/ton from the last review a week ago.

 

Other estimates were reduced by either A$3 or A$4, for durum grades.

 

Estimated returns for Australian Prime Hard grade of 13% were reduced by A$3.00 to A$240.50.

 

Explaining the downward revision, Sarah Scales, AWB's general manager of its national sales pool, said U.S. wheat futures markets fell over the past week.

 

"Durum  prices have come under pressure as a result of a continued rally in freight markets, especially for Australia's major durum markets in the Mediterranean and North Africa where freight rates have been particularly strong," she said in a statement.

 

AWB sells wheat collectively on behalf of growers through a pooling system and attempts to estimate average returns from sales spread across the marketing year, which started Oct. 1.

 

It deducts storage, handling, transportation and other costs before passing on returns to growers.

 

The company exports most wheat it receives from growers, making it a major global supplier, and also trades in the domestic market.

 

It is scheduled to next update its estimates of returns on Dec. 22.