Australia finds a new destination for its Barley after trade spat with China had hit its exports hard

Barley farmers in Australia have made significant progress. Faced with crippling Chinese tariffs and a pressing need to export a bumper crop, they’re flocking to Saudi Arabia, one of the world’s largest grain markets.

Australia has been making efforts to develop new markets following its recent spat with China. Jason Craig, chief marketing and trading officer of CBH, said following changes in the international trading landscape, efforts to develop new markets for Western Australian barley are proving successful.

At the same time, demand for Australian feed barley is set to increase in Saudi Arabia. The demand is set to increase from almost nothing in the year 2019 -20 to 2 million tonnes this year. “Saudi is re-opening as an export destination for Australian feed barley, which has become very price competitive compared to barley from alternative origins, such as Russia and Ukraine that have dominated exports to the country for the past few years,” Craig said.

Australian feed barley exports to Thailand and Vietnam are forecast to double in 2020-21, up from around 700,000 tonnes and 190,000 tonnes respectively, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics which is good news for the crop growers of the region.

“Western Australian growers have delivered a remarkable 2020-21 crop, resulting in the production of more than four million tonnes of barley,” Craig said. “As Australia’s largest barley exporter, it is the priority for our Marketing and Trading team to find new markets for this grain by taking advantage of trade conditions, developing new customer relationships and exploring opportunities in new markets.”