Chickpea prices remain well supported on strong exporter demand.
Prices for chickpeas into Brisbane jumped by more than $100 last week to $1060 as exporters chased more supply after a rapid start to the state’s exports.
Exporters have already shipped more than 500,000 tonnes of chickpeas in November and December which suggests the harvest may have been even larger than ABARES estimate of 555,000 tonnes.
Traders were eager to ship their chickpeas as quickly as possible after harvest given the high prices and the chance that importers may have second thoughts when the local Indian crop is harvested. However another poor Indian pulse crop following a late monsoon appears to have further bolstered demand for imports from the likes of Australia and Canada.
The Indian government has been trying to slow the record pace of pulse import into the country in an effort to keep a lid on domestic prices and limit food inflation. There have been reports that authorities have seized some imported stocks in an effort to dampen prices but the underlying problem is unlikely to disappear following two consecutive poor crops.
But while chickpea and mung bean remain well supported, prices for wheat and feed grains remain soft.
Sorghum prices delivered into the Darling Downs are remain in the low $230’s, down 3 per cent in the past month and $50 less than the same time last year. There are reports of sporadic export sales being concluded into China and Japan but demand appears to be well down from the heady pace seen last year.
Stockfeed wheat prices into the Downs are steady in the low $260’s, which is also about $50 less than values seen 12 months back.
Declining profitability of feeding grain into feedlots is also weighing on prices. Cattle prices remain extremely strong helped by re stocker demand. Also, drought feeding by feedlots has largely disappeared as a result of the improved rainfall in recent months.
Export wheat prices into Brisbane also remain subdued as traders struggle to compete with cheap overseas supplies which are pushing further and further into Australia’s core Asian markets amid cheap ocean freight rates.
Iraq issued a tender to buy imported wheat on the week following an absence of several months. Iraq has been a fickle buyer in the past six months with purchases well down on a year ago. Traders are saying that Australian wheat is unlikely to be sold into Iraq in the last tender, saying Russian wheat is likely to be successful.
