Australia: Concern for barley crop keeps growing as wet conditions prevail on east coast

Wet conditions continue to prevail on Australia’s east coast with no break from the steady rains which are delaying harvest and raising concerns about the resulting barley quality, RMI Analytics reported.

Barley harvest will be delayed for at least 1-2 weeks as fields are not passable, although the barley is ripe.

Good crop conditions prevail in Western Australia and South Australia which should deliver malting quality along with positive yield results, which helps offset the questionable quality on the east coast.

There is some lost production resulting from the extreme flooding, which has washed out entirely some fields. for now, RMI Analytics’ forecast for Australia’s production remains at 12.6 mln tonnes of barley.

Australian barley prices are up slightly as a big crop is coming in Western Australia, and to an extent in South Australia, but the quality outcome in Victoria and New South Wales is a big question at the moment.

The premiums for malting barley are too narrow (in the analysts’ view), given the crop situation in eastern regions. These quality impacts should reduce east coast port activity in 2023 and open vessel fobbing capacity (more to feed than malting barley). A deficit of malting barley in the east will once again put pressure on the logistics network to re-position malting barley to demand (although there is a sizeable carry-over from crop 2021). The wet conditions are making logistics a major headache at the moment.