Australia sees first EU wheat export in 21 years

CANBERRA (Commodity Online) : Australian Wheat Board (AWB) said it might receive wheat export orders from the EU for the first time in 21 years.
According to Mitch Morison, the AWB general commodities manager, Europe and traditional Asian buyers South Korea and the Philippine are showing interest in Australian feed wheat, in the face of buoyant prices of corn, an alternative fodder source.
The comment from Australia's former wheat export monopoly follows considerable speculation that the country may already have secured feed wheat orders to Europe, whose own supplies have been sapped by bumper exports and willingness among some buyers to lower specifications for food grain.
However, AWB acknowledged the logistical blow dealt by flooding in east coast states, mentioning barley shipments specifically.
"One of the challenges in moving barley from Australia is the logistics problems created by the flooding and transport infrastructure damage in eastern regions," Morison said.
"Most buyers are now aware that supply routes will be slower and more costly, so much inquiry is focused on when supply can be secured."
Portugal and Spain are considered likely destinations for non-EU grain, with the Netherlands also showing a strong appetite to judge by export data from the UK, a core European shipper of feed wheat.
Australian wheat exports are already running far ahead of last season's levels, official data on Tuesday showed, coming in 47% higher for the October-to-December period – the first three months of the country's 2010-11 crop year.
And further strong shipments lie ahead, with grain committed for export, but not yet shipped, reaching 6.4m tonnes in December, double the level a year before.
"Strong global wheat prices and the withdrawal of Russia from the market contributed to the strength in exports," analysts at Australia & New Zealand Bank said.

(Source: http://www.commodityonline.com/news/Australia-sees-first-EU-wheat-export-in-21-years-36320-3-1.html)