CHINESE demand for Australian sorghum has been the bright light at the end of the tunnel for growers this season because it has helped keep prices strong.
In fact, prices are on their way up, said Robinson Grain Trading Company commodity trader Anthony Furse, Toowoomba, Queensland, thanks to renewed demand from the big Asian buyer.
Mr Furse said new crop sorghum prices at Newcastle were $320 a tonne, $318/t in Brisbane and $300/t on Queensland’s Darling Downs.
He said last year sorghum prices were volatile, with both high and low figures offered to growers, but he expected this year to be stronger overall.
“The window to capture these prices really expires by the end of July though,” he said.
One grower who was watching these prices was Alice Downs Farms Pty Ltd manager, Tim Leifels, from Moree, who says he’ll be selling a good chunk of the crop off the back of the header to take advantage of the improving prices.
Ag Scientia director Lloyd George, Melbourne, said China imported massive amounts of American sorghum during its previous season, upwards of five million tonnes, to go towards its feed grain.
Some of the sorghum would also be used for alcohol production, but Mr George said the majority of the Australian crop would go to the country’s feed grain industry.
Mr George said currently, sorghum prices were relatively expensive compared with wheat, so domestic feedlotters had been using a lot less sorghum in their rations.
Similarly, Mr Furse said he suspected feedlotters would continue using wheat, although the poultry industry was right on the borderline as to whether it would buy wheat or sorghum.
“Sorghum and wheat will continue to fight it out price-wise and that will determine what the poultry guys use,” he said.
Mr George said with sorghum prices holding strong on the back of exporter interest, it was difficult to say whether or not we’ve see the peak of prices for the season.
“There’s been some pretty solid buyer interest though,” he said.
Although there hasn’t been a large amount of crop exported yet, Mr George suspected shipments by April.
Solid sorghum prices as high as $320 a tonne at Newcastle have tempted few farmers into forward selling, says Robinson grain trading commodity trader Anthony Furse.
The risk of high screenings meant selling out of the paddock was proving more popular.
In Queensland particularly, there are concerns of high screenings that might not make some of the export requirements due to the hot, dry weather producers have experienced at the end of the season.
"Recently we've had 40 to 42 degree days and it's the middle of March," Mr Furse said.
November rain sorghum at Moree
GOOD rain in November revived the sorghum crop on Alice Downs Farm Pty Ltd, Moree, which is set to be harvested after Easter.
Alice Downs Farms manager Tim Leifels said they planted their sorghum crop in mid October into country that grew cotton the previous summer.
After a short fallow through winter and some leftover moisture from the cotton crop, Mr Leifels said they had a good soil profile to plant with, although the top dried out quickly due to the hot weather.
"The rainfall in November really saved it and germinated a few of the dry seeds," he said.
Since the rain, the sorghum performed well, with the only setback some hail damage from last week's storms, which Mr Leifels said would have affected yield.
"It's not a total wipeout, but there's certainly some damage," he said.
Mr Leifels said the sorghum was looking a lot better than it was last year, and with prices strong he expected to sell it as it was harvested.
"We might hold some in storage to see what happens," he said.
Pictured checking an MR43 crop (and on our cover) are employees Neil Barton, Bellata, and Zach Ferguson, Moree, on Alice Downs' Bellata property, "Sunny Ridge".
