Australian wheat supply and exports monthly

July 2010

Australian wheat - marketing year (Oct 2009-Sept 2010), Year To Date and wheat production
			Oct 09	Nov 09	Dec 09	Jan 10	Feb 10	Mar 10	Apr 10	May 10	June 10
			(kt)	(kt)	(kt)	(kt)	(kt)	(kt)	(kt)	(kt)	(kt)
Opening stocks a			3738	4095	10626	22258	20423	18557	16668	14986	12989
	Bulk grain handlers		3421	3724	10033	17788	17044	15564	14068	12770	11150
	Milling		2645	3027	8590	15360	14642	13424	12133	11043	9729
	Feed and other		776	697	1443	2428	2402	2140	1935	1727	1421
	Wheat growers and users b		317	371	593	4470	3379	2993	2600	2216	1839
	Growers c		n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	1596	1252
	Users c		n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	620	587
Wheat grain used			1181	1182	1635	1910	1737	1940	1524	1927
	Export		761	767	1077	1386	1226	1447	1052	1444
	Domestic b		420	415	558	525	511	493	472	482
Wheat grain committed			1991	2906	3195	4948	4906	5083	4706	5051
	Export		1306	1530	1665	3283	3489	3726	3487	3973
	Domestic b		685	1376	1530	1664	1417	1357	1219	1078
Australian wheat production			(kt)
	2006-07 d		10822
	2007-08 d		13569
	2008-09 d		21420
	2009-10 e		21656
Note: a) Opening stocks represent the stocks of wheat held at the end of the previous month as reported by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). b) As a result of a change to ABS survey coverage to include agricultural businesses, manufacturing businesses, dairy operators and wheat growers, 'Opening stocks - wheat users' after and including January 2010, 'Wheat grain used - domestic' and 'Wheat grain committed - domestic' after and including December 2009 are not directly comparable to previous data. c) The ABS reports a breakdown of wheat stocks by growers and users as of the June edition of its Wheat use and stocks publication. The breakdown is not available prior to that edition. d) Historical production as reported by the ABS. e) ABARE's estimate of wheat production in Australia at 16 June 2010. Sources: ABS, Wheat use and stocks, Australia, cat no. 7307.0; ABS, Principal Agricultural Commodities, Australia, Preliminary, cat no. 7111.0, Canberra; ABARE, Crop report.

Australian wheat stocks and use

• It is estimated that around 13 million tonnes of wheat was held in stock in Australia at the start of June 2010, compared with 15 million tonnes at the start of May 2010 (table 1). Wheat stocks typically fall throughout the year after harvest, reflecting exports and domestic use (figure 1).



• Wheat stored by the bulk grain handlers fell by around 1.6 million tonnes to 11.2 million tonnes at the start of June 2010, after falling by 1.3 million tonnes in the previous month (table 1, figure 1). Wheat stored by the bulk grain handlers comprised around 9.7 million tonnes of milling grade wheat and around 1.4 million tonnes of feed grade wheat, compared with around 11 million tonnes and 1.7 million tonnes, respectively, in May 2010.
• Around 1.3 million tonnes of wheat were estimated to be stored by growers and 587 000 tonnes by wheat users at the start of June 2010.
• ABS Wheat Use Survey coverage changed in December 2009. In addition to agricultural and manufacturing businesses, the survey now covers wheat use and stocks of wheat held by dairy operators and wheat growers. As a result, data on opening stocks held by wheat users (from January 2010), domestic wheat use (from December 2009) and wheat committed for domestic use (from December 2009) are not directly comparable to previous data.
• Based on the broader coverage of the ABS survey, 482 000 tonnes of wheat were used domestically in May 2010.
• Wheat committed for domestic use was around 1.1 million tonnes in May 2010.

For detailed supply and use tables see excel data: Monthly Wheat Stocks and Use

Australian wheat exports

• Wheat exports in May 2010 increased to 1.4 million tonnes, compared with the 1.1 million tonnes in the previous month. It is typical for the volume of wheat exported in any month to fluctuate relative to the previous month. Increases and decreases can be attributed to various factors such as harvest dates in Australia and other exporting countries, world prices, exchange rates and the private selling and buying decisions of wheat exporters and buyers.
• Around 4 million tonnes of wheat was committed for export in May 2010, compared with around 3.5 million tonnes in the previous month. The volume of wheat committed for export in one month is generally greater than actual exports in the proceeding month.
• Bulk shipments increased by 382 200 tonnes to around 1.2 million tonnes in May 2010, compared with 852 300 tonnes shipped in April. Wheat shipped in bags and containers increased by around 10 200 tonnes to 209 900 tonnes over the same period.
• The largest markets for bulk wheat exports in May 2010 were Indonesia, Vietnam, the Republic of Korea, Yemen and Japan.
• Vietnam, China and Chinese Taipei were the largest markets for wheat exported in bags and containers in May 2010.

For detailed monthly export data see excel tables: Australian Wheat Exports