Australia’s four key grain exports down 25% on year

Australia’s grain-marketing season concluded at the end of September, and with last week’s release of that month’s export data by the Australian Bureau of Statistics came the twelfth and final chapter of the nation’s 2023-24 grain-export dossier. While analysis of the data reveals a sharp decrease in export volumes compared to the record 2022-23 season, it did not come as a surprise after 2023 harvest volumes were down dramatically year on year due to drought, especially in Western Australia and New South Wales, the nation’s top producing states. Total exports of the top four commodities – wheat, barley, canola, and sorghum – fell 24.9 percent, or 11.88 million tonnes (Mt), to 35.88Mt collectively. The program was behind from the get-go, with shipments in the first quarter of the marketing year falling by 19.1pc compared to the previous corresponding period. Exports in the subsequent three quarters were down 20.7pc, 30.5pc and 30pc respectively. The importance of, and reliance on, ...