Eastern Australia's Winter Crop Progress
By Paige Hill
14th May, 2024
As we hit the halfway point in May, there has been rapid progress in the sowing of eastern Australia’s winter crop, although some areas of the northern region are too wet to keep planting winter crops and harvesting summer ones. With volume trade picking up in the southern market, mostly from trading companies selling warehoused stock. In Northern NSW & QLD, trade has been thin as mostly ideal conditions for planting of the winter crop offset the impact of rain on the summer-crop harvest.
Prices have seen little movement in the past week, although the southern market has seen some spikes created mostly by a shortage of farmer deliveries now that planting is in full swing. Limited selling from growers mid sowing has created some shorts in the market. Most places have seen growers making good progress on wheat, barley and canola planting. In contrast, the Western Downs farmers are only halfway through their sorghum harvest, as cool weather slows progress after last month’s rain. For those still harvesting sorghum quality has not been impacted as highly as initially feared after widespread rain last month, but delivering within moisture specs has been a challenge as days get cooler and shorter. However, some growers have finished harvesting sorghum, or are around two-thirds through, and traders appear to be covered for May requirements for bulk and containerized exports.
The Indian Government’s announcement that Australia has a tariff-free window until March 2025 has caused speculation about potential for Australia’s biggest chickpea plant in years. The chickpea tariffs had been equivalent to about 66% of the price. Tariffs on chickpeas initially set at 33% were established by India in 2017-18, effectively eliminating Australian chickpea exports into India, the world’s biggest consumer of chickpeas. This announcement caused chickpea prices to soar late last week, the timing useful for those who are still gearing up for winter crop planting. The suspension of the tariffs is likely to deliver more reliable pricing for Australian chickpeas and add depth to the market, increasing competition for Australian chickpeas which are already exported into other important markets including Bangladesh, the United Arab Emirates and Pakistan.
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