Australia’s GrainCorp receives record grain for season

East Australian grain logistics firm GrainCorp has recorded its largest week of receivals from the harvest season so far, with growers delivering over 2mn t of grain in the week to 20 December.

GrainCorp’s receivals have passed 10mn t in total for the season to date. The large grain outload programme was maintained across the network to create capacity for more receivals, with up to 300,000t of grain being dispatched each week.

Queensland winter harvest is 99pc complete, as farmers look to summer crop opportunities. Rain over the next two weeks could slow the harvest in South Australia (SA), which is 85pc complete, and Victoria, which is 80pc complete.

The southern New South Wales (NSW) and Victorian harvests will continue into January 2022, with the harvest mostly moving into areas that typically do not produce much high protein or quality wheat. The impact of these remaining sections on prices will be minimal, given how much feed wheat has already been collected.

Harvest deliveries slowed during the weekend, with rain across most harvest sites, but were well under way again this week. Victorian receival sites are starting to fill across the GrainCorp network.

High premiums that were seen for protein wheat and malting barley last month have declined as domestic consumers fill their books and start to retreat from the market. It will be an export game for most of the crop now and even though Australian grain is cheap by world standards, traders will not be keen to own positions too far forward given the size of the crop and a A$15-20 discount being priced for next year’s harvest.

For any winter crop still in ground in northern NSW and Queensland, there is an increasing possibility that sorghum will be harvested first, as saturated paddocks and sporadic heavy rain every 7-14 days could keep headers off paddocks well into the new year in some parts.

By Brandon Gallagher

Argus Media

Tags: grain, crop condition, GrainCorp, Australia