3 million tonne Harvest for WA so far

This article is bought to you by Marson Industries Australia and Molloy Contracting.

In the past week, growers have delivered around 1.8 million tonnes, bringing the season total to more than 3 million tonnes. Activity levels have increased due to warm and dry weather and we now have 111 sites open. On Wednesday 13 November we received 330,000 tonnes making it the largest receival day to date.

"We are likely more than a quarter of the way through harvest now and we expect daily receivals to peak over the next few weeks," said CBH General Manager Operations Ben Macnamara.

"Given seasonal conditions, we have been seeking to manage segregations to cater for the wide variability in crop quality.

"Around half of our receivals to date have been barley with just over a quarter wheat. We're anticipating wheat deliveries to increase in the coming days," said Mr Macnamara.

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Zone Summary

Geraldton zone

· The site with the most receivals to date has been the Geraldton Terminal with 232,000 tonnes received.

· The zone experienced a full range of weather conditions over the week with summer thunderstorms, rain, heat which led to harvest bans and bushfires in the last two days which has made it a very stop/start week for growers.

· As harvest progresses, yields are below expectations with variability in quality.

· The zone is around halfway through the season and better weather conditions in the next week should see it start to wrap up quickly.

Kwinana North zone

· The site with the most receivals to date has been Merredin with 84,000 tonnes received.

· Hot and windy weather led to harvest bans across the zone last weekend.

· All sites are now open across the zone.

· Barley is winding down, with majority of receivals now wheat.

· Wheat quality is varied with both high and low protein and high and low screenings with no discernible pattern throughout the zone.

· Yields are lower than expected across most of the zone.

Kwinana South zone

· The site with the most receivals to date has been Avon with 82,000 tonnes received.

· Hot and windy weather led to harvest bans in several areas last weekend.

· 25 sites are open across the zone.

· Similar trends on yields and quality as seen over the past couple of weeks.

· More wheat deliveries are starting to be received as growers complete their barley.

Albany zone

· The site with the most receivals to date has been Gairdner with 99,000 tonnes received.

· Weather has been warm and dry has seen good harvesting conditions.

· All sites are open subject to demand.

· Receivals continue to be mostly barley, with some growers in the north eastern areas moving on to wheat.

Esperance zone

· The site with the most receivals to date has been the Esperance Terminal with 330,000 tonnes received.

· Harvest ban was in place last Sunday due to the weather conditions.

· The weather forecast for the coming week looks favourable and we expect a good amount of tonnes to come in again next week.

· Growers are moving through the crop very quickly, now moving from barley to wheat.

· Yields and quality are similar to other zones with wide variability and are in line with what was expected prior to harvest starting.

*Tonnes stated are accurate as of 3am Friday 15 November.

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Market Update

Wheat

Grower selling of wheat is very quiet for this time of the year as growers look to wait until they finish their wheat harvest before committing. Grower pricing was steady at levels of A$324-326 per tonne FIS Kwinana for APW1. International interest is steady with both South East Asia and Middle East interest seen during the week, suggesting the Australian market is at international parity. However, grade spreads have the potential to contract further with the majority of demand interest to date being for the lower grades with higher grades seeing limited interest.

Barley

The Chinese Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) yesterday announced an extension to the barley anti-dumping investigation which is now due to be finalised on 19 May 2020. Feed barley prices firmed mid-week to A$275 per tonne free in store (FIS) Kwinana before finishing the week approximately A$5 lower as harvest was in full swing and growers have been strong sellers. The Saudi Arabian Grain Organisation (SAGO) released a tender this week for approximately 1 million tonnes of feed barley with Australia potentially being competitive for some of these positions. Malting barley prices remained stable over the week at A$268-270 per tonne FIS Kwinana for Spartacus malting barley. Malting selection rates continue to remain below 20% in Western Australia which is below the average of 30%.

Canola

European interest continues to be seen as European crushers look to cover their first quarter of 2020 requirements. GM canola values began to firm by the end of this week lifting A$15 per tonne to A$573 per tonne FIS Kwinana, with a reasonable amount of grower selling.

Oats

Oat market continued to firm this week by approximately A$8 per tonne as the trade looked to source good quality oats in what is a difficult year to source quality as a result of the dry conditions. Market remains relatively firm at this stage as customers and the trade look to cover.

www.cbh.com.au