WA Harvest Update - CBH up to $12.7 million tonnes

By CBH

* Tonnes stated are accurate as of Friday morning, 11 December.

CBH Operations Update

Large volumes of grain continue to pour into the CBH network, with an additional 2.3 million tonnes delivered this week taking total receivals to more than 12.7 million tonnes.

Chief Operations Officer Ben Macnamara said while some growers, particularly in the Geraldton and Esperance zones, had completed their harvest programs, several receival sites continued to take large volumes of grain.

"We had five sites break daily receivals records this week, including Ballidu, Merredin, Wickepin, Cranbrook and Borden. They join eight other sites that have achieved record daily volumes this season," Mr Macnamara said.

"These records have been made possible by our significant investment into expanding and enhancing our network sites, and grower investment in equipment to increase their harvest capacity.

"As the pace of harvest increases, we will continue investing in our network to ensure we can provide an efficient service to growers when they need it most."

Mr Macnamara said as the CBH team worked with growers and transporters to receive the remaining crop, safety would remain front of mind.

"As we near the end of the harvest period, we're very wary of managing fatigue to ensure our employees and growers return home safely at the end of each day."

Zone Summary

Geraldton Zone

• Deliveries are starting to taper off in the Geraldton Zone, as total receivals pass 2.5 million tonnes.
• Over the past seven days 359,000 tonnes were received across the zone, with wheat making up the bulk of deliveries.
• Some lupins and canola are still being received.
• Quality remains mostly very good, despite some disruptions due to thunderstorms. This will continue to be closely monitored.
• Some sites will close in the lead up to Christmas as receival volumes drop.

Kwinana North Zone

• Weekly receival volumes remain at a high level, with 513,000 tonnes delivered over the past seven days, taking total receivals to 3.1 million tonnes.
• The Ballidu site broke its daily receivals record on Wednesday 9 December, with 6,922 tonnes delivered.
• The Merredin site broke its daily receivals record on Monday 7 December, with 15,325 tonnes delivered.
• Small volumes of sprouted grain have come into the system in the Regans Ford area. This will be closely monitored.
• Quality across the rest of the zone remains good.
• Harvest bans on Wednesday and Thursday slowed down deliveries, and storms forecast over the next few days may see this continue.
• Site turnaround times are tracking well.

​Kwinana South Zone

• More than 2.3 million tonnes have now been delivered in the Kwinana South Zone this season, with 464,000 tonnes received this week.
• The bulk of majority of deliveries are now wheat.
• The Wickepin site broke its daily receivals record on Friday 4 December, with 5,812 tonnes delivered.
• Growers in the zone benefited from consistent harvesting conditions until the latter part of this week, when wet weather disrupted activity in some parts.
• Quality remains good, however, this will be closely monitored following recent wet conditions.
• Growers in the north of the zone are beginning to finish their harvest programs and some smaller sites will see opening hours reduced as receivals volumes drop.
• Site cycle times remain good across the zone.

Albany Zone

• Good weather across the zone over the past week has seen 638,000 tonnes delivered over the past week, taking total receivals to 2.3 million tonnes.
• Barley has made up almost 50 per cent of receivals, with wheat making up about 30 per cent.
• The Borden site broke its daily receivals record on Monday 7 December with 13,150 tonnes delivered.
• The Cranbrook site broke its daily receivals record on Tuesday 8 December, with 20,314 tonnes delivered.
• Quality remains good, with about 40 per cent of barley making malt grade and about 80 per cent of oat deliveries grading as OAT1.
• The majority of wheat has made ASW grade.
• Wet weather and thunderstorm activity on Thursday will result in reduced volumes over the next few days.
• Several sites are starting to fill and work is underway to outload to create more space for receivals.

Esperance Zone​

• Following the delivery of 408,000 tonnes this week, receivals sit at at 2.4 million tonnes, exceeding estimates.
• Some wet weather hit the region over the past week, however, deliveries were not impacted.
• At this point, wheat is making up the bulk of receivals.
• Significant volumes of grain delivered this week have been from on-farm storage This is expected to continue over the next week as growers finish their harvest programs.
• Quality remains good.
• Site opening times will be reviewed as receival volumes drop.

Market Update

Wheat

 The wheat market began softer at the start of the week, with grower prices falling to $302 per tonne free in store (FIS) Kwinana for APW1. Prices lifted strongly at the end of the week to $312 per tonne FIS on the back of unconfirmed reports that a Russian export tax will be implemented on wheat early in 2021. These unconfirmed reports have ignited interest for Australian wheat from end users who are looking to cover demand for the first half of 2021 and see Australian wheat as the most competitive.

Barley

 The barley market has traded sideways this week, with grower prices in the range of $250 to $255 per tonne FIS Kwinana. Grower selling has somewhat dried up as growers look for higher values, however, with a stronger Australian dollar and a larger than anticipated crop, the market remains at a standstill. International interest is still evident in Asia and the Middle East for the first half of 2021 as buyers look to take some coverage. A stronger wheat market may encourage some feed end users to seek barley as an alternative in specific feed rations.

Canola

 Grower selling of canola is now slowing as the majority of growers have delivered and sold a large portion of their crop at historically good prices in Australian dollar terms. This week, the market drifted lower by approximately $10 per tonne to $626 per tonne FIS Kwinana. Internationally the market remains quiet, with European demand uncertainty as a result of COVID-19 weighing on biodiesel demand.

https://www.cbh.com.au/