Sydney, 12 November (Argus) — Grain and oilseed deliveries to Australia’s major bulk handlers have been slower so far this harvest partly due to wet weather, falling short of deliveries made in prior seasons.
Total receivals into Australia’s major bulk handlers — GrainCorp, CBH and Bunge (Viterra) — reached 6.2mn t as of around the start of this week, 3.5mn t lower than the 9.7mn t delivered at around the same period in the last winter crop harvest. Bulk handler grain receivals are a rough proxy for harvest pace in absence of official data.
Harvest progress is picking up in Western Australia (WA), with weekly receivals into CBH sites rising by 1.2mn t in the week ending 9 November despite 5-25mm of rain falling across most crop regions mid-week, Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology data show. Recent dry weather, which is forecast to continue for the remainder of the week, will likely prompt harvest pace to pick up in the state.
Deliveries to GrainCorp’s sites in New South Wales (NSW) were strong, increasing by almost 1mn t on the week, although rains interrupted some harvest deliveries, according to the company.
The harvest in Queensland is winding down, but growers will likely have pushed to harvest as much as possible before heavier rains are expected to fall from 13 November and continue into next week, according to several meteorological models.
In contrast, the harvest is yet to meaningfully start in southern crops, in part because these regions remain colder and some crops have yet to finish developing, according to one market participant. Deliveries to South Australia-based bulk handler Bunge (Viterra) and across GrainCorp’s Victoria sites are below 107,000t as of around the start of the week compared to almost 3.5mn t received in GrainCorp sites in NSW and Queensland.
By Edward Dunlop
