Site Logo
  • Customer Hub

    Customer Hub

    • Log In
    • Customer Hub
  • AWB Login

    AWB Login

    • AWB Website Registration
    • AWB Accountant Access Registration
  • Grain prices

    Grain prices

    • Pricing Hub
    • GrainFlow site Prices
  • Products and Services

    Products and Services

    • Market Advantage (NPE)
    • Multi Grade Contracts
    • Fixed Grade Contracts
    • VICTORY® Specialty Canola Program
      • VICTORY® Canola Hybrids
  • News Hub
  • GrainFlow
  • Admin

    Admin

    • Reporting
      • Ask AWB Reporting
      • Account Link Reporting
      • Grower
    • Account Link
      • 3rd Party Access Administration
      • Maintain Accountant Details
    • Ask AWB Administration
    • Assume User
    • GrainFlow Grower Portal
  • Cargill
  • Contact Us
  • Account Help
Home//News Hub // A peek into the sorghum world
  • News Hub

A peek into the sorghum world

By James Massina

23rd February, 2022 

 

The last couple of weeks have seen favourable weather conditions that have enabled growers to make solid progress into their sorghum harvest. Yield reports generally through northern New South Wales and Queensland are excellent with numbers ranging anywhere from five to eight tonnes a hectare and in some cases even higher. Pleasingly the quality harvested to date has also been excellent with very little off-grade sorghum reported as harvested. Temperatures through New South Wales remain high in the near term however there is a little colour on the maps towards the back end of the month which will be watched closely by all with crop still in the paddock.

The cash market for sorghum has held up well in the face of what looks to be the largest sorghum crop for many years aided by both increased hectares and excellent yields. ABARES currently have 21/22 sorghum production estimated at 2 million tonnes however an update is due in March and expectations are that this number should be increased as many in the trade already suggesting a crop higher than that figure. It will be a few months before we get a better handle on the production number with harvest progress ranging from complete in areas in the north of New South Wales and parts of south-western Queensland, to still weeks away from harvesting in the most southern and northern sorghum growing regions of the country.

The export market has been driving values in sorghum with values trading a very narrow range for the last few weeks. As harvest progresses and yield and quality reports all on the positive side, one could have expected values to come under pressure. This, however, has not been the case. Exporters of both bulk and containerised sorghum have been willing to own volume at the levels and with road freight extremely tight at present, grower selling pressure has seemingly been met with comparable demand. The domestic consumer has largely been absent from the sorghum market to date and understandably so with sorghum only a slight discount to wheat into this market. With the amount of stock feed wheat produced in the eastern states in 21/22 its clear that sorghum will need to continue to find its way into export markets in order to maintain these types of values. As is the case with all commodities at present, sorghum will have to fight for space into these export channels with shipping capacity for both bulk and containers already stretched.

Values for cereals have generally been stable through New South Wales over the last couple of weeks with the exception of the usual shorts in the spot market. The extremely tight road freight situation has anyone caught short having to pay significant premiums just to secure capacity. With a huge export program booked for months to come, and challenges in rail execution, the expectation is that road freight should remain firm for some time to come.

       


One eye on the horizon

Harvest_16022022

With the 2021/22 harvest finally in the rear-view mirror for all but a few stragglers, the focus quickly shifts to marketing what unsold grain remains on-farm....

Read More

Highlights of a memorable harvest

Harvest_09022022

With the dust nearly settled on the 2021/22 harvest, it will be with mixed adjectives how we describe this one in the years to come.

Read More

Canola growers prepared for price volatility

Canola_02022022

New season canola prices are starting the year in nosebleed territory relative to other years, which makes canola a very attractive option to growers in 2022 . 

Read More

Keeping all the irons in the fire

Grains_27012022

As harvest rolls into its fifth month through parts of New South Wales, growers and traders alike are now turning their attention to the considerable task of executing one of our biggest crops on record. 

Read More

Disruption in the feed grain sector

Barley_17012022

Australia's key atmospheric and oceanic indicators point to a continued La Niña weather pattern sticking around until at least February 2022. 

Read More

Headwinds facing farmers in 2022

Harvest_12012021

Harvest is slowly wrapping up on the east coast however the ever persistent La Nina continues to delay the placement of the final full-stop on this seasons bumper harvest. 

Read More

The higher the bid, the further to fall

Harvest_29122021

As December finally brought the welcome news of a reprieve from the rain across most of the East Coast, the increase in harvest activity unfortunately seemed to coincide with a decrease in values to the Australian grower. 

Read More
Useful links Terms & Conditions
Privacy Security Website Terms of Use
© 2023 Cargill Australia Ltd trading as AWB ABN 42 004 684 173
Was this page useful?