According to official data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the country exported 498,4 thousand tons of barley in February this year, of which 379,9 thousand tons were feed barley (-38% compared to January) and 118,5 thousand tons of malting barley (-63%), reports Grain Central.
Reportedly, the main direction of shipments of Australian feed barley in February was China (272,1 thousand tons, or 72% of the total volume of shipments), and grain was also exported to Japan (100,3 thousand tons) and Thailand (2,2 thousand tons) exported.
China was also the main destination for malting barley – 111,2 thousand tons. Deliveries were also made to Singapore (4,7 thousand tons) and Thailand (1,1 thousand tons).
As noted above, the decline in Australian barley exports in February was not unexpected for market participants and was generally in line with expectations during the periodusarelated to the New Year celebrations in China during this period. February's low figure does not indicate a decline in demand, as preliminary estimates suggest Australia increased barley shipments to over 700 tonnes in March.
Source: APKinform (Ukraine)