Wheat exports down, China hungry for Australian barley

Forecasters expect wheat exports to be down almost half from the 2023 record of 31.8 million tonnes. (Dean Lewins/AAP PHOTOS)

With winter crop harvesting wound up across Australia, forecasters say the amount of wheat to be exported in 2024 will be almost half what it was last year, while barley is also down despite big demand from China.

Rural Bank's Australian Crop Forecasters is expecting wheat exports to be 17.8 million tonnes this year, down 44 per cent from the 2023 record of 31.8 million tonnes.