Australian farmers hold back wheat and barley sales amid deteriorating crop quality

Wheat and barley harvesting is gathering pace in Australia following prolonged rainfall, but farmer selling activity in the grain market remains subdued. Growers in New South Wales and Queensland are facing significant variations in grain quality and elevated moisture levels. As a result, producers are delaying sales while assessing drying, grading and blending options to achieve better prices.

The main quality issues include low test weights, declining falling numbers and high screenings. In northern New South Wales, some wheat parcels contain 13–16% protein, but screenings range from 12% to 20%. In central and southern parts of the state, screenings in certain wheat lots have reached as high as 70%, despite relatively high protein levels of 14–15%. Farmers are seeking to store such grain until harvesting is completed, allowing them to undertake additional cleaning and potentially market it under higher quality grades.

Restricted grower selling is already affecting prices, particularly in southern Australia. Over the past week, barley prices at some grain receival sites have increased by AUD 5–7 per ton. In Melbourne, indicative barley prices rose from AUD 295 to AUD 305 per ton, while ASW wheat increased from AUD 345 to AUD 350 per ton. January wheat offers also gained AUD 10 to reach AUD 360 per ton.

Despite limited new-crop grain availability, domestic consumers remain relatively well supplied with old-crop stocks and deliveries secured before the rainfall. Meanwhile, livestock producers may increase their use of locally sourced lower-grade feed barley due to high transport costs from southern regions. For example, transporting grain from the Parkes area to southern Queensland costs approximately AUD 160 per ton, reducing the economic attractiveness of such shipments.

Meanwhile, harvesting operations continue to accelerate. According to GrainCorp, the company received 1.3 mln tons of grain over the past week alone, including nearly 200 thsd tons in a single day. In many parts of northern New South Wales, growers have completed approximately 75% of their harvest, while barley harvesting is largely nearing completion. However, forecast rainfall of 25–50 mm could cause further delays and aggravate grain quality issues, encouraging farmers to maintain a cautious approach to marketing their crops.

Tags: Australia, wheat