E-Malt.com News article: Australia: Malting barley exports show surprise jump in June

Australia exported 859,475 tonnes of barley and 231,046t of sorghum in June, according to the latest data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

The figures bringing totals for the first three quarters of the shipping year, which commences October 1, to 1.97 million tonnes for malting barley, 7.74Mt for feed barley, and 1.68Mt for sorghum.

On feed barley, the June total of 615,236t was down 6 percent from the May total of 654,617t, with China on 523,234t the destination for 85pc of it, and Thailand on 57,300t and Japan on 24,719t the second and third-biggest markets respectively.

June malting barley exports on 244,239t showed a surprise jump of 44pc from the May figure of 170,234t, with China the home for 90pc of it, followed by South Korea on 12,880t, and Singapore on 3512t.

Sorghum exports fell 44pc in June from their May total of 408,945t, with China the market for 96pc, or 222,661t, of the total, with Taiwan on 5010t and The Philippines on 3205t the second and third-biggest markets.

McDonald Pelz senior broker Sam Roache said June barley exports continued to impress, showing marginal improvement on May numbers, but well below April volumes.

“The drop-off is very well expected, with less available stocks, combined with higher prices curtailing demand,” Mr Roache said, adding further drops are expected in the current quarter as stocks run down.

“Overall, we will see a clear record program, with close to 11 million tonnes to be shipped by the end of September.

“This is above early expectations and was primarily driven by early season price competitiveness into Chinese feed rations.”

Mr Roache said Chinese demand has softened, and expecting is growing that the demand and export program for barley will be below that of recent years.

“The growing wheat issues in the Black Sea and a strong early canola sales program will only add to the issue, making barley even less attractive for export.”

Supply-side pressure from the bumper barley crop growing across southern Australia is another factor.

“With a record crop distinct possibility, harvest pricing will be very interesting to watch.”

The drop in sorghum exports in June indicates run-down stocks, and export economics tested by dry conditions and rallying feedgrain values in northern New South Wales and southern Queensland to soak up any unpriced volume from their recent harvest.

“Central Queensland’s harvest and execution in July-August will see new tonnes come on the stem and export figures supported.

“Like barley, Australian sorghum suffered from a relative lack of demand over the past 6-8 weeks, especially when compared to wheat markets.

“Brazilian sorghum has saturated the market and will continue to provide significant volume and price pressure to both Australian and US sorghum in the coming months and years.”


18 August, 2026