Australia: Barley crop forecast remains at 10-10.5 mln tonnes this year

Australia’s barley crop prospects remain 10-10.5 mln tonnes, H. M. Gauger GmbH said in their August report.

Weather had been variable, rather good in the southeast, less than ideal in Western Australia and Queensland.

Barley exports in May were 200 thousand tonnes of malting and 75 thousand tonnes of feed barley.

Australia has little barley unsold, virtually no malting barley after large shipments to China in 1H 2020. In the line of feed barley, Thailand has purchased 430 thousand tonnes during Oct/March 2019/20, after 400 thousand tonnes in the whole crop year 18/19.

As per Australian Feed Reports of July 23 the feed demand of grain (wheat, barley, oats, sorghum) has risen to 40% of the annual grain production, approximately 13.5 mln tonnes in 2018/19, because of the steady growth of cattle feedlots and chicken meat production.

Feed barley usage has increased from 2.2 mln tonnes in 2013/14 to 4.5 mln tonnes in 2018/19. A price difference of A$ 70,- per ton vs. wheat makes barley again a very attractive feeder. However, as the grass is growing again in the Queensland and New South Wales pastures, total
grain feed use may drop this year.

The USDA estimate of Australia’s barley export surplus (excl. malt) in 2019/20 is 4.2 mln tonnes.

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