December 19, 2005

 

Australia's AWB holds estimated returns on benchmark wheat
 

 

Australia's monopoly wheat exporter AWB Ltd. Monday held unchanged its estimate of returns from sales of its benchmark wheat type grown this crop year ending March 31, 2006, reflecting relatively steady commodity and currency markets.

 

AWB estimates its benchmark new crop Australian Premium White type wheat of 10 percent protein would still return a gross A$188/tonne (FOB) from the previous review a week earlier.

 

Estimates for all other new crop grades of wheat are also steady.

 

AWB's new crop Australian Prime Hard grade of 13 percent protein is estimated to return A$225.50/tonne, while the estimated return for Australian premium Durum was held unchanged at A$234.50/tonne.

 

The harvest is underway and would mostly finish around the year-end.

 

Sarah Scales, general manager of AWB's international unit, noted a further tranche of export subsidies for European Union wheat exports.

 

As such, a further 351,000 tonnes of EU wheat exports would be subsidised by EUR8/tonne, she said.

 

AWB sells wheat collectively on behalf of growers through a pooling system and attempts to estimate average returns from sales of all the wheat, which can take 18 months or more from harvest.

 

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. It also trades in the domestic market.

 

AWB would next update its estimates of pool returns Jan 3.