Australian Grower Selling Picks Up as Harvest Approaches

Grower selling has picked up ahead of harvest in eastern Australia, particularly in areas south of Central Queensland where headers are already rolling in. Maximum daytime temperatures are forecast to rise above 30 degrees Celsius in coming days, increasing the threat of insect infestations and encouraging some northern growers to sell wheat to domestic consumers.

In the north, barley has been priced out of the market due to expensive diesel adding at least $10/t to freight costs. Consumers are now pulling most of their barley from central and south-central NSW, with new-crop wheat trading at around $430/t January and barley sold forward at $406/t.

Some growers in the far north of NSW have started planting sorghum after patchy recent rain, but are expected to pull up shortly due to high daytime temperatures on the eight-day forecast. In contrast, the southern barley market is feeling the weight of a big crop and soft global pricing, with some growers selling out current crop ahead of the bumper harvest expected in Victoria.