Australia: December malting barley export more than five times the volume shipped in November

Australia exported 1,223,811 tonnes of barley and 12,957t of sorghum in December, according to the latest data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

The barley figures breaks up into 349,069t of malting, more than five times the 59,743t shipped in November, and 874,742t of feed, up slightly from the 871,889t exported in November.

On feed, China was the buyer of 700,257t, or 80 percent, of December-shipped feed barley, with Saudi Arabia on 158,950t and Vietnam on 6576t the second and third-biggest markets respectively.

China on 261,592t was also the buyer of 75pc of malting exports in December, with Saudi Arabia on 67,000t and South Korea on 14,680t appearing as the second and third-biggest markets.

December sorghum exports fell 56pc from the November total of 29,236t, with China on 8601t, The Philippines on 2455t, and Taiwan on 1737t the three largest markets.

McDonald Pelz senior broker Sam Roache said December 2025 was the largest month for barley exports since December 2023.

“China continued to take the lion’s share, but also notable in the data is strong Middle Eastern shipments, led by Saudi Arabia,” Mr Roache said.

“The record barley production and strong selling in Western Australia have seen barley very well priced into feed demand globally, and will continue to see historically high months, with both January and February stems looking like exceeding the strong December.”

Mr Roache said global barley prices have gained around US$20-$25/t over the past three months.

“Recent North African and Middle East tender results showing that the price action is similar in the Northern Hemisphere, and demand side at current prices isn’t constrained to China.”

Mr Roache said shipping stems are showing around 60pc of expected exports will be shipped by the end of next month, which could climb to 70pc as cargoes are added.

“This shows a very well sold position, and forward Chinese demand for June-July suggests that this strong demand should continue right through the season.”

“Strong pace has been underpinned by WA grower and trade selling, which is starting to run low as the grower moves up towards 90pc sold.

“Eastern states pricing is not as aggressive, and doesn’t calculate well into current demand pricing.”

Mr Roache said continued strong pace will rely on the market connecting with eastern and South Australian sellers.

“Carry-out is still expected to grow, but maybe not as much as early estimates.”

Sorghum exports continued to bounce along the bottom in the volume stakes in December, as shippers wait for new crop to hit the bins.

“The early southern Queensland harvest is pretty well progressed now, with yield results coming in positive versus expectations.

“There is no shortage of demand to soak up recent tonnage coming to market, with destination bids moving slowly higher.”

January and February shipments are expected to remain low ahead of new-crop exports starting later this month, and volume ramping up in March-April.

“Sorghum export calculations are sitting in a better position than wheat today.”

Mr Roache said later crop yields will be boosted by good recent rain in Queensland, with the only negative being some logistics interruptions to the early export programs.

18 February, 2026