Australia: Cereals flat as pulses, canola hog action

Prices for feed wheat and barley in northern Australia have remained stable since mid-December, with growers focusing on pricing and delivering pulses and canola, and consumers maintaining existing coverage. A large wheat and barley harvest in central and northern New South Wales and southern Queensland is largely stored on farm or in warehouses due to low bids from up-country consumers. Some growers in northern New South Wales are starting to harvest early sorghum, with southern Queensland making a tentative start on a large sorghum harvest. Growers in southern New South Wales have sold much of their canola, lentils, malting barley, and higher-protein wheat as cash crops. Feed wheat and barley values are expected to increase, attracting sales from growers. Quality of grain harvested in southern New South Wales has been generally good, but some loads were downgraded by rain at harvest.

Prices for feed wheat and barley have moved little since mid-December as growers focus on pricing and delivering pulses and canola, and consumers rest on coverage previously booked for coming weeks. In the northern region, some growers are just starting to harvest an early sorghum crop, their next cash earner after chickpeas and faba beans. A bumper wheat and barley harvest in central and northern New South Wales, and southern Queensland, has largely been warehoused or stored on farm if bids from up-country consumers were deemed too low to send it straight to consumer. In Victoria and southern NSW, growers are believed to have sold much of their canola, lentils, malting barley, and higher-protein wheat as cash crops Table 1: Indicative prices per tonne. Southern Qld has made a tentative start on a big and early sorghum harvest, with first crops coming off in the past week or two on the western Downs. In northern NSW, where in-crop rain has been more variable, harvest is expected ...