Trade

Ongoing inflationary pressures, a weaker global economic outlook and the prospect of a wet winter across many production regions of Australia is causing volatility for the agriculture sector... NAB Senior Agribusiness Economist, Phin Ziebell, said Australian agriculture was facing a number of opportunities and risks as a result of current global conditions.

The outlook shows 2022/23 may be the first year since 2012/13 in which the world has to consume less grain than the previous year – due to high prices and low supply, says Rabobank senior commodities analyst Cheryl Kalisch Gordon.   “This is forecast to be a drop of only 0.1%, but that compares to average annual growth of 2.1% over the past decade,” she said.

RaboResearch general manager for Australia and New Zealand Stefan Vogel said, in particular, there are four specific impacts of the lockdowns in China that are set to have increasing ramifications for Australian agribusiness – disruptions to freight logistics, Chinese corn plantings, dairy demand and hog pricing.

A Charles Sturt University agribusiness expert suggests Australia can anticipate an increase in wheat exports to countries affected by the Ukraine-Russia conflict and should target those importing nations’ requirements.

Exports of Queensland-bred Calypso ® mangoes to China have increased this season despite the many recent challenges faced by growers, including unpredictable weather events and freight disruptions.

The global wine sector is facing significant disruptions in different links of the supply chain. The common assumption was that these issues were transitory. Now there are increasing signs that some of these changes are structural and could even get worse, requiring more strategic responses.

Castlemaine local, Stefan Dannhausen, is set to become the Goldfields region’s answer to the Easter Bunny, having launched his new owner-managed business, Dimpex Import and Wholesale. Interested in starting out on his own but initially unsure what type of business he wanted to run, Stefan drew on fond memories of enjoying SCHO-KA-KOLA with his family as a child to come up with a business idea that allowed him to explore his German heritage.

A consortium, led by the Global Maritime Forum and consisting of BHP, Rio Tinto, Oldendorff Carriers and Star Bulk Carriers Corp., have today signed a letter of intent (LOI) to assess the development of an iron ore Green Corridor between Australia and East Asia.

The Territory Labor Government will introduce legislation this week to facilitate the $30 billion Sun Cable Australia-Asia PowerLink project ... The Solar Project (Australia-Asia Power Link) (Special Provisions) Bill 2022 will provide certainty that key commitments in the Territory’s Project Development Agreement with Sun Cable will be met. The legislation will clarify and streamline existing processes, increase project certainty, and support Sun Cable to secure project financing.

New Agribusiness Australia analysis shows a rapidly evolving global trading environment, with profound, radical implications for grains production and markets. Major consumers of grains and oilseeds are in urgent need of supply and are being forced to compromise to maintain food security.

Mark Allison, Chair of Agribusiness Australia, analyses the state of play for Russian-Australian trade and what the Ukrainian conflict may mean for key global commodities.

Farmgate milk prices have increased significantly across the world’s major dairy export regions and further “upside” in milk prices remains, Rabobank says in its latest Rabobank Global Dairy Quarterly report. The report says that even before the Russia-Ukraine conflict, global dairy commodity prices were “soaring” due to a global supply shortfall.

Australia wheat farmers can expect increased farmgate prices following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, although the local impact is not expected to match that seen globally. Together, Russia and Ukraine make up nearly 30% of global wheat exports. Ukraine’s military has suspended commercial shipping at its Black Sea ports, which is tipped to disrupt the supply chains of grain and oilseeds exporters.

ABARES Executive Director Jared Greenville said the latest ABARES Insights report: Snapshot of Australian Agriculture 2022 demonstrated that while there have been fluctuations, the agriculture sector was still on an upward trajectory.

NSW Minister for Enterprise, Investment and Trade Stuart Ayres said a Memorandum of Understanding signed this week between the NSW Government and the United Arab Emirates Food and Beverage Manufacturers Group (UAE FBMG) provides NSW businesses with a strategic  advantage in the supply of ingredients, new innovations and agritech solutions as UAE takes steps to progress its food security agenda.

The Russia Ukraine conflict will have large ramifications for global and Australian grains and oilseeds markets, and particularly wheat, according to agribusiness banking specialist Rabobank. The loss of access to all Black Sea wheat exports has not occurred in more than 100 years.

Petrol prices across Narrandera jumped to a new high last week, with local service stations charging almost $1.80 for a litre of Unleaded 91. The average unleaded petrol price in Narrandera was $1.77.4 per litre. The town’s motorists could be forgiven for pointing the finger at nations throughout the world which are flexing their military might.

Demand and prices for fine and mid-micron wool are forecast to pick up as workers return to offices around the world, according to a report by agribusiness banking specialist Rabobank ... Rabobank agricultural analyst Dennis Voznesenski said while consumer confidence is waning in the world’s two largest markets for wool, the US and China, there are positive factors that will push prices higher.

GrainCorp has a vast geographical footprint, with operations not only in Australia but in New Zealand, the United Kingdom, Ukraine, the Americas, south-east Asia and China ... "I’m very proud that GrainCorp China has made great progress over the past five years. The sales of Australian commodities have gained high reputation among our Chinese customers": David Cui.

Australia’s agricultural sector is set for another profitable year ahead, with the gross value of agricultural production on track for a fourth consecutive year of growth in 2021/22, Rabobank says in a newly-released industry report.

"During COVID, supply chains almost ground to a complete halt and exposed Australia’s reliance on the import of key inputs including urea. Many Australians would be shocked to learn the nation imports 90% of its urea, the most commonly used fertiliser in agriculture. Without urea, crop production would fall 30-40%" : National Farmers Federation Chief Executive, Tony Mahar.