AUSTRALIA exported 498,382 tonnes of barley and 55,755t of sorghum in February, according to the latest data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

Feed barley exports at 379,875t  fell 38 percent from the 609,217t shipped in January, while malting barley exports at 118,507t were down 63pc from the 316,041t shipped in January.

Sorghum shipments at 55,755t also posted a big drop, down 51pc from the 114,661t exported in January.

China was the major destination for feed barley, taking 272,082t, or 72pc, of total shipments, followed by Japan on 100,296t, and Thailand on 2172t.

China on 111,159t was also the destination for the vast majority of malting barley exports, followed by Singapore on 4703t and Thailand on 1113t.

Japan on 24,603t was the largest destination for February-shipped sorghum, followed closely by China on 24,163t and Taiwan on 4921t.

Flexi Grain pool manager Sam Roache said the drop in barley volume shipped in February has come as no surprise.

“That’s per expectations, and was largely due to the Chinese New Year holiday which interrupts logistics for an extended period,” Mr Roache said.

ABS figures for the month were around 40pc higher than shipping stem expectations, with Victorian exports outperforming significantly, and South Australia lagging.

“The lower February number is not a pointer to lower demand, with March stems suggesting 700,000t plus and April already showing around 500,000t worth of exports.

“Likewise, we see demand for May and June in the market today.

“Interesting again this month was China’s lower percentage of Australian exports at 72pc, another reminder of overall competitiveness.”

On aggregate, and including shipped grain and shipping stems for March, April and May, Mr Roache said around 90pc of Australia’s total barley export expectations are on the stem.

“It is likely that April and May stem additions will increase that to 100pc over the next month or so.

“This is unprecedented relative pace historically, and points clearly to Australian barley being very cheap and China demand being very much higher than market expectations.”

Mr Roache said February sorghum figures also reflected the impact of the Chinese New Year on logistics at the receving end.

“Add to that the early season nature of February exports, where availability is always limited, and the substantial rains on the Downs and Goondiwindi regions and out to the south-west, and there is no surprise that we were fairly limited.”

Table 1 Australian feed barley exports for December 2023 and January and February 2024. Source: ABS

Table 2: Australian malting barley exports for December 2023 and January and February 2024. Source: ABS

Table 3: Australian sorghum exports for December 2023 and January and February 2024. Source: ABS