THE GrainCorp network recorded its biggest week of receivals of the season so far, surpassing eight million tonnes, as growers harvest their biggest crops on record.
Receival sites in Victoria saw more than 850,000 tonnes arrive this week, bringing the state’s total to more than two million.
New South Wales has recorded 4.5 million and 1.6m in Queensland.
GrainCorp’s core business is to be receive and store grain and related commodities, usually in silos adjacent to freight train routes.
“Victorian harvest was in full swing, especially across the north east of the state and the Wimmera regions, with very strong canola deliveries,” the company said in its weekly receival report.
“Northern and southern NSW regions continued to pick up the pace after delayed receival activity, particularly around the Dubbo region in the north and the Wyalong and Griffith clusters in the south.”
Australian grain growers were expecting to harvest their biggest winter crop on record this year.
It comes despite floods and mice plagues in parts of the country.
Quambatook farmer and Grain Growers chairman Brett Hosking said Victorian growers were “doing really, really well this year”.
“It hasn’t been the ideal season but our growers are extremely skilful and they’ve produced a cracking crop,” he said.
“Quality is good, yield is good.”
Mr Hosking said frost was recorded in parts of the Wimmera but not as widespread as initially feared.
“That’s good news and hopefully we can get it (grain) off in the next few weeks,” he said.
Mr Hosking said the market into China remained a challenge, particularly with barley after the country imposed a combined 80.5 per cent tariff on Australian barley.
“That being said, we have a lot of good opportunities for Australian wheat and a lot of our canola has gone into China,” he said.
“They are such a close neighbour and we know they are a country that wakes up every morning thinking where is our next lot of food going to come from, and we are a country that wakes up and thinks where are we going to get rid of this food.
“It makes sense for us to be close trading partners.
“We just need to get over some of these differences in opinions that we have got going on at the moment.” *breakout*
EQUIPMENT finance loans to NAB small business customers have jumped 341 per cent in total value over the past two years, as farmers around Australia are stocking up on critical agricultural equipment.
Latest data from Australia’s largest agribusiness bank shows equipment finance for agricultural businesses generally, taking in enterprises of all sizes, has increased 33 per cent from September 3, 2019 to September 30, 2021.
NAB executive regional and agribusiness Julie Rynski said the trends in equipment finance reflected good seasonal conditions creating good economic conditions across Australia and the ongoing uptake of government incentives including the instant asset write-off scheme.
“The generally positive outlook of the agriculture sector, buoyed by solid commodity prices and the prospect of record crops, has seen equipment finance lending for sheds increase 80 per cent, while lending for grain silos has increased 65 per cent over the last two years,” Ms Rynski said.
Demand for finance for tractors also continues and is up 69 per cent over the same period and NAB expected these trends would continue as farmer confidence remained high.
