Australia: Crop estimates for 2017/18 are around 7-8 mln tonnes versus 13.4 mln harvested in 2016/17

Australia’s barley crop 2016/17 was 13.4 mln tonnes, reported export sales to-date 8.5 mln tonnes, of which 5.3 to China, 1.1 to Japan, H. M. Gauger GmbH reported earlier this month.

The weather, which had helped to produce a record crop in 2016, has been much too dry since planting time for the 2017/18 crop, initially in Western Australia, followed by South Australia and finally New South Wales. Present crop estimates for 2017/18 are around 7.0 – 8.0 mln tonnes. Domestic consumption is max. 2.5 mln tonnes, barley use for malt export 700 – 800,000 tonnes. Farm stocks are reportedly max. 10% of the last crop.

Farmers are withholding their stocks from the market anticipating very tight supplies for the new campaign, local sources report. Nominal new crop prices have shot up to USD 211,- FOB seaport for feed and USD 230,- for malting barley in South Australia. Western Australia is USD 10,- lower. Chinese buyers are shocked and started to look for alternative supplies.

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