Good weather conditions contributing to a quick Harvest in WA

This article is bought to you by Bruce Robertson Transport 

CBH received more than two million tonnes in the last seven days, bringing the total received for the season to 7.2 million tonnes.

CBH General Manager Operations Ben Macnamara said an early start and good weather conditions are contributing to making this a quick harvest for growers.  

“The smaller crop this year and good harvest conditions have seen growers moving quickly through their programs, with Esperance and Geraldton zones due to finish up within the next couple of weeks.

“In some parts of the state the small harvest has presented a challenge with how we manage the number of off-grades required for the full spectrum of crop quality that we are seeing.

“We have been proactive in introducing segregations at sites where needed, which combined with improvements to site storage, equipment and technology made prior to harvest, has made for a pretty smooth harvest so far,” said Mr Macnamara.  

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Zone Summary

Geraldton zone

• Good weather over the last week with more to come means things will wrap up quickly for the zone.
• The last week saw things ease off slightly with steady receivals seeing the zone hit one million tonnes delivered to date.  
• Quality is still better than expected as mostly wheat deliveries continue to come in.
• The zone is close to finishing with a few sites in the north of the zone closed for the season this week.
• Shipping started during the week with vessels due to be loaded over the weekend.

Kwinana North zone

• Weather across the Kwinana zone was favourable during the week.  
• Kwinana North zone had its largest week of tonnes delivered to date.
• Majority of deliveries are wheat which is yielding better than barley which is welcomed by growers.
• Crop quality is still variable.
• Kwinana North zone will finish earlier than Kwinana South with three smaller sites closed this week, and more likely to close within the next week as more growers finish delivering.

Kwinana South zone

• Weather conditions were good for harvesting this week.
• The larger sites in the zone were very busy over the last week with almost half a million tonnes received across the zone – the biggest week to date.
• Some of the smaller sites are winding down with a couple closed for season this week.
• Kwinana South zone will likely be the last to finish the season with many growers still with weeks of harvesting in front of them.

Albany zone

• The weather was good this week with more good weather due in the next two weeks.
• This week was busy, averaging 80,000 to 90,000 tonnes coming in per day.
• Deliveries are mostly wheat now with smaller amount of canola and barley trickling in.
• A higher percentage of barley is going malt.
• The western parts of the zone are still moving strongly, with the eastern parts of the zone slowing down this week, and due to finish sooner.
• Shipping program started this week.

Esperance zone

• Weather has been good this week, with more good weather forecast for the next two weeks
• The zone is around 80% finished, with many growers due to finish within the next week.
• Deliveries are mostly wheat, with quality looking better than expected given the season.
• Several sites are due to close within the next week with majority of the tonnes still to be delivered expected to come straight to Esperance Terminal.  

*Tonnes stated are accurate as of 3am Friday 29 November.

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Market Update

Wheat

This week saw the wheat market firm A$7-10 per tonne for APW1 to A$337-340 per tonne free in store (FIS) Kwinana as grower selling was slow and traders looked to cover early shipments. This has also seen spreads narrow with ASW only being a $5 per tonne discount to APW1. On the premium side, AH2 is trading at only a A$2-3 per tonne premium above APW1. The narrow spreads are reflecting a market where premiums are not being paid for protein.  

The slow grower selling has been a feature of this season as growers have experienced significant quality and yield variability resulting in growers being very cautious sellers. International interest continues with good demand from South East Asia for the first quarter of 2020.

Barley

The announcement from Thailand to not include Glyphosate as a chemical with an MRL of 0 has assisted the market with potential for additional business to be concluded for first half of next year. Feed market continues to see East Coast and international interest at current values. This week feed barley market was in the range of A$270 per tonne FIS Kwinana.

Interest remains for malting barley and with a low selection rate at approx. 20% the market, pricing is reflecting the demand and lower supplies. During the week Spartacus malting barley prices remained reasonably firm at A$303 per tonne FIS Kwinana.

Canola

Canola prices for Non-GM were sideways to softer this week as the trade covered European demand and grower selling was consistent. Prices still remain in the A$620-630 per tonne FIS Kwinana range with GM at A$40-50 per tonne discount.

Oats

Oat values continue to remain strong at A$370 per tonne FIS Kwinana with the bulk of the harvest expected over the next two weeks.

www.cbh.com.au