Dry weather allows Qld winter crop harvest to advance quickly

GrainCorp said it had taken more than 1.3 million tonnes of harvest deliveries into its Queensland network by November 21.

Central Queensland grain sites are starting to fill with the bumper harvest. GrainCorp reported it had received more than 500,000 tonnes of grain deliveries in CQ with sites starting to shut and outload to offer more capacity. Harvest progress across southern Queensland and the Darling Downs picked up in the past week.

Grain quality remains variable. This includes good volumes of milling wheat including APW and some Hard 2 but also plenty of ASW. A considerable volume of downgraded wheat is also being harvested including GP and SFW.

It's shaping up to be a protracted harvest for NSW and Victorian grain farmers. Stormy weather and sodden paddocks continue to stifle harvest progress for areas south of Moree. The mild spring, coupled with the recent rainfall events has delayed harvest progress and grain deliveries into NSW and Victoria by around five weeks, GrainCorp said.

Northern grain markets continued to soften with the harvest progress in Queensland and northern NSW in the past week. Stockfeed wheat bids fell $10 to $385 delivered into the Darling Downs while feed barley bids slipped $15 to $360.

Southern markets continued to strengthen as buyers contend with the widespread flooding across southern NSW and Victoria.

Crop losses because of flooding are also mounting across NSW and, to a lesser extent, in Victoria. Satellite imagery is showing that as much as a quarter of the wheat area in the Moree Plains has been destroyed by floods. Sizable areas of the Narrabri, Walgett and the central west have also been devastated by floods.

Grain harvest is also gathering steam in WA. CBH Grain reported it had received close to 4mt of grain deliveries into its network at the start of this week. It's been another huge year in the West with CBH expected to receive more than 21mt of grain when harvest is completed.

Global wheat markets came under selling pressure last week after the United Nations confirmed a 120-day extension to the Black Sea safe corridor grain deal. Certainty of the ongoing safe passage of grain movements from the Black Sea region is expected to weigh on North American and European grain prices which had strengthened on supply chain concerns.