Australian bumper harvest continues under mixed weather

Australia's agricultural sector remains in a less-than-optimal position for managing exports of a forecast record crop, as canola, barley and wheat deliveries from fields to ports place the logistics chain under strain early on in a delayed harvest season.

Lower rainfall in Australia's eastern states allowed grain harvesting and deliveries to exporters to speed up last week, while less favourable weather in the west led to slower fieldwork and some crop loss.

Trading firm GrainCorp had received a total 1.7mn t of grain at its Queensland, New South Wales (NSW) and Victoria sites as of today, including 570,000t just in the past week, according to the firm's latest harvest update.

Harvesting resumed at pace in northern NSW, where severe flooding had closed roads and induced a two-week break to fieldwork earlier in the month. More than half of GrainCorp's 389,000t of grain receipts from NSW this campaign arrived in the past week alone.

Parts of Queensland also benefited from improved weather. GrainCorp's grain receipts for the region stood at 1.3mn t, with 340,000t arriving over 15-21 November.

But highly unfavourable weather earlier in the season continued to put a strain on harvest logistics as canola, barley and wheat arrived from the fields all at once. And such conditions are set to continue, with the Bureau of Meteorology forecasting above-average rainfall into February next year.

Rain continued to slow harvest progress in southern NSW, where activity was largely limited to canola crops. In Victoria, GrainCorp's canola and barley receipts dwarfed wheat, with total grain receipts at just 16,000t this campaign, including 11,000t in the past week.

Rain slows harvest in WA

Rain over 15-21 November slowed harvesting in parts of Western Australia (WA), which had avoided the worst of heavy rainfall faced by regions further east and is mostly forecast below-median rainfall in the coming months.

Trading firm CBH had received 3.9mn t of grain across its WA sites as of Sunday, with almost two fifths of the volume arriving in the week ending Sunday, according to the firm's latest harvest update.

Progress was particularly strong near Kwinana, despite many growers losing about two days that week to rain. Activity was mostly focused around the canola crop, with wheat and barley indicating good quality but not expected to reach peak harvest pace until about six weeks from now.

In Albany and Esperance, high moisture levels kept the harvest pace slow, with most deliveries containing canola and barley.

In contrast, wheat made up the majority of Geraldton's latest receipts. Producers in this northern region indicated protein levels above expectations, with yields also high.

But there were reports of hail across the central wheatbelt, leading to some crop damage.

And WA's overall harvest pace continued to trail 2021-22's crop, with a total of 4.7mn t of grain harvested at the same time last year. The slower start could put harvest logistics under greater pressure along the export chain in the coming weeks, and CBH is encouraging growers to deliver grain directly to ports when possible.

Crop output in WA for 2022-23 is set to surpass last year's harvest record of 23.1mn t to reach 23.97mn t.

By Claudia Jackson