AUSTRALIAN barley production for the 2020/21 season was the second highest on record behind 2016/17, coming in at 12.7 million tonnes according to Australian Crop Forecasters.
Estimating carry in from the previous season of 2.6mt, Australian barley supply is at 15.3mt for 2020/21. With large exportable surplus, Australian barley has been making its way into a range of export markets. The big story in barley is increased exports to Saudi Arabia, essentially filling the gap left by China albeit feed rather than malt barley. As you can see in the map (inset), the large orange circle shows the 1.8mt of barley that has made its way to Saudi Arabia so far this season.
When you track the export pace of barley to Saudi Arabia this year, it follows the average export pace we have seen to China over the previous five years. While growers are not benefitting from the malt premiums we used to see from China, it is positive that Australian barley has been able to find a home in Saudi Arabia. The larger production this past harvest has also enabled Australian barley to fill the feed grain deficit in the Asian region. Australian bulk handler shipping stem data shows that 615,500 tonnes of Australian barley has been exported to Thailand this marketing year along with 481,425t to Japan, that’s a year-on-year increase of 35 per cent and 71pc respectively.
The volume of barley exported to our other top destinations in Asia has increased year-on-year.
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