AUSTRALIAN crop export values are the lowest in at least five years according Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences (ABARES) data.
The value of crop exports for 2019-20 is estimated to be $20.18 billion, an 11.9 per cent year on year drop and well below the five year average.
Of that, wheat exports will make up $3.3 billion.
The primary cause for this drop, of course, is the drought, which has seen exports of most grain products on the east coast virtually dry up.
Western Australia carried the load for grain exports in 2018-19, but with a smaller production year in the west this year it will mean a fall in overall exports.
While Australia has endured a run of poor years it has not been the case internationally, which is putting a cap on prices.
Domestic prices reached their peak last year but have fallen away slightly this year, with parity to the international market and smaller demand due to livestock feeders deciding to offload stock rather than continue to fork out top dollar for feed.
International, global wheat production is set to nudge records once again after good years in both the Black Sea and Europe, with around 764 million tonnes expected.
ABARES said it expected transhipments of grain from Western Australia for use as domestic feed on the east coast to continue.
However, volumes are likely to be lower than in 2018-19, as road and rail supplies from Victoria and South Australia increase following forecast higher crop production in those states.