Trade

Global grain prices will continue to be volatile until the market is able to decipher the end impact of Russia withdrawing from the Black Sea Grain Initiative, according to Rabobank senior grains analyst Dennis Voznesenski. The deal – which has allowed wartime Ukraine grain exports across the Black Sea – expired overnight Australia time after Russia confirmed it would not agree to its renewal.

Livestock prices continue to place downward pressure on the NAB Rural Commodities Index, which has fallen for the eighth consecutive month to now be 28.1 per cent below June 2022 levels ... NAB Senior Agribusiness Economist, Phin Ziebell, said cattle prices have been the single greatest driver of the lower Rural Commodities Index, constituting a quarter of the total Index and losing around half its value from the 2022 peak.

This year, Australia’s sheep flock and its breeding ewe numbers reached their highest levels since 2007 at 78.75 million and 46.14 million head respectively, according to the latest Sheep Projections update from Meat & Livestock Australia (MLA) ... Carcase weights in 2023 will remain 7% above the 10-year average.

Tony Mahar. Australian negotiators must continue to hold the line to ensure a fair and commercially meaningful deal with the EU. This was always going to be a tough negotiation. Fair access to the EU market is something the farm sector has sought for decades.

Australia’s first raw sugar shipment to the United Kingdom under the new Australia-United Kingdom Free Trade Agreement (A-UKFTA) was loaded in Townsville on 10 July 2023, opening an important new market for the Queensland sugar industry. Under the new agreement, which came into place on 31 May 2023, tariff-free raw sugar exports to the UK have resumed for the first time in 50 years...

Rural Bank’s Australian Agriculture Mid-Year Outlook 2023 report finds that favourable seasonal conditions and strong production over the first half of 2023 ensured strong winter crop establishment and pasture growth, particularly on the east coast, but despite a positive start to the year, softening commodity prices are now impacting Australian farmers following several seasons of strong prices.

Deputy Secretary of Biosecurity and Compliance Dr Chris Locke said new fees and charges for importers would better reflect the true cost of delivering Australian biosecurity services. “While some importers will experience slightly larger increases in the prices, the average increase across all importers is around 28 per cent,” said Dr Locke.

The NSW Government will spend an additional $80 million to protect the state from red imported fire ants, with the invasive and aggressive pest now on the march towards the NSW border. Minister for Agriculture, Tara Moriarty said red imported fire ants cause serious social, economic and environmental harm.

The independent panel appointed to consult with stakeholders on the phase out of live sheep exports by sea will complete its public consultations this week. The panel was appointed by Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry Senator Murray Watt to provide advice on how and when the Australian Government can give effect to a phase out of live sheep exports by sea.

Industry and Hort Innovation are working together to prime the Australian almond sector for growth amid a 118 per cent rise in overseas demand over the past decade. From exporting 52,795 tonnes in 2013 to 115,049 tonnes in 2022, the almond industry is gearing up for further expansion. Delivered through Hort Innovation and led by the Almond Board of Australia, the $7M program aims to increase almond exports by at least 50,000 tonnes over the next three years and push export sales beyond $1 billion.

The National Farmers’ Federation has warned a consultation panel assessing the phase-out of live sheep exports that Australia’s status as a favoured food exporter will suffer should the ban proceed. In a submission to the consultation process, made public on 20 June 2023, the NFF has named broader trade impacts among several reasons the phase-out plan must be scrapped.

Startling findings from two different surveys have highlighted the devastating impact the proposed live sheep export ban is having in Western Australia, according to the country’s peak farm body. Data released from Rabobank shows that while confidence edged higher nationally, WA bucked the trend recording a further dip into negative territory.

As Australia looks towards exploring new export markets, the MENA region presents a wealth of trading and investment potential for Australian regional businesses.

The nation is on track to plant an impressive 23.48 million hectare winter crop this year – up slightly on last year’s crop area – Rabobank says in its newly-released 2023/24 Australian Winter Crop Outlook ... overall harvest totals are forecast to be lower than last season, with expectations of drier growing conditions due to the likely transition to an El Nino climate cycle, the specialist agribusiness bank says.

The 2023 sugarcane crush is officially underway, with harvesters roaring into life across the Atherton Tablelands this week as growers, harvesting crews and mill workers start the race to get Queensland’s 30 million tonnes of cane cut and crushed by the end of November ... Latest estimates put the crop at 30.55 million tonnes of cane, producing between 4 and 4.5 million tonnes of sugar, the majority of which will be exported to overseas markets in Japan, South Korea, and Indonesia.

"Australia is the sixth most forested country in the world but is a net importer of timber products. The current approach is not working if we want to continue to provide local timber products to support affordable housing and flow-on benefits to meet society’s needs. We are in effect, exporting our forest management challenges to other nations, when we have high environmental standards and highly skilled professionals and scientists to appropriately manage our resources locally": Dr Michelle Freeman, President of Forestry Australia.

Australia’s beef sector is set for a return to "more normal" market conditions in the season ahead, after a recent extraordinary period marked by record prices levels and volatility, according to Rabobank’s Australian Beef Seasonal Outlook 2023. But while prices are projected to track in a narrower range – at close to current levels – through the year, this is still "historically high’ and expectations are that beef producer margins will remains strong, the agribusiness banking specialist says.

Dubai Chamber office in Sydney a ‘big win,’ says Al Ghurair ... Al Ghurair said that  Dubai Chambers  aims to encourage more Australian businesses to set up companies in Dubai to boost bilateral trade and foreign investment in the city ... “We will be taking the UAE business community back to Australia where they can also invest and explore what kind of economic activities they can do in Australia.”

A group of the United Kingdom’s most influential business figures were presented insights into South Australia’s growing global investment opportunities at a premier industry event in London recently ... The event highlighted the State’s economic priorities to some of the UK’s most influential business figures, focusing on key initiatives such as renewable energy, food and wine, digital skills, space and defence.

John Hasell, President, WAFarmers. I write on behalf of the Western Australian farmers and service businesses that rely on the live sheep trade to support their families and communities. A trade that for purely political reasons your government has decided to end on the logic that it has lost its social licence to operate.