NOTES

FORTHCOMING ISSUES

ISSUE	Release Date
February 2011	1 April 2011
March 2011 April 2011	2 May 2011 3 June 2011

ABOUT THIS PUBLICATION

This publication provides estimates of stocks of wheat, barley, and selected other grains and pulses held by bulk grain handlers. These estimates are compiled from the Grain Handlers Stocks Survey (GHSS) conducted by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).

In addition to the monthly wheat estimates, quarterly estimates for barley and selected other grains and pulses are available in a separate data cube from the 'Downloads' tab of this publication.

Stocks of barley and other grains and pulses were not updated for the December 2010 quarter. Updated estimates for the March 2011 quarter will appear in the March 2011 issue of this publication, after which no further updates will be published. The publication of monthly data on stocks of wheat grain held by bulk handlers will continue unchanged.

For more detailed information on wheat use and stocks, see Wheat Use and Stocks, Australia (cat. no. 7307.0).

The ABS welcomes any comments from readers regarding the usefulness, range and quality of the statistics presented in this publication. Comments can be forwarded to: Environment and Agriculture Business Statistics Centre, Australian Bureau of Statistics, GPO Box 66, Hobart TAS 7001. Alternatively, email: agriculture.statistics@abs.gov.au, or phone (03) 6222 5939.


EFFECT OF QUEENSLAND FLOODS ON FUTURE PUBLICATIONS

Extensive flooding began in late December 2010 in Queensland and was more extensive in both Queensland and other states in January 2011. It is expected that the impact of these floods will be reflected over the next few months, starting with this January 2011 issue. Further details will be provided in future issues if necessary.


KEY POINTS

At the end of January 2011, Australia's bulk storage of wheat grain was estimated at 22.2 million tonnes. This represents an increase of around 4.0 million tonnes of wheat grain stored compared to December 2010.

Unfavourable harvest conditions contributed to both Queensland and Western Australia reporting decreases in stocks of wheat grain from December 2010, with falls of 67 thousand tonnes and 581 thousand tonnes respectively. All other states recorded increases in stocks of wheat grain in January 2011 compared to December 2010. At the end of January 2011, New South Wales had the highest amount of the wheat grain stored by bulk grain handlers with 7.8 million tonnes, followed by South Australia with 5.4 million tonnes.

The wet harvest season has resulted in a lower quality yield of wheat grain than in previous times. Of the total wheat grain stored by bulk grain handlers, milling grade accounted for 12.5 million tonnes (56%) and feed grade accounted for 9.7 million tonnes (44%). This compares to 86% milling grade and 14% feed grade in January 2010.

STOCKS OF WHEAT GRAIN STORED BY BULK GRAIN HANDLERS, at month end
		WHEAT GRAIN STORED BY STATE						WHEAT GRAIN STORED BY GRADE(a)
		NSW(b)	Vic.(c)	Qld	SA	WA	Aust.	Milling	Feed
		'000 t	'000 t	'000 t	'000 t	'000 t	'000 t	'000 t	'000 t
2009-10(d)
	January	3 856	1 734	1 044	3 789	6 621	17 044	14 642	2 402
	February	3 345	1 624	1 006	3 644	5 945	15 564	13 424	2 140
	March	2 951	1 450	940	3 475	5 252	14 068	12 133	1 935
	April	2 667	1 301	821	3 178	4 803	12 770	11 043	1 727
	May	2 238	1 137	694	2 895	4 186	11 150	9 729	1 421
	June	1 997	986	608	2 566	3 727	9 884	8 642	1 242
	July	1 451	678	457	2 177	3 137	7 900	7 025	875
	August	1 351	603	397	1 723	2 613	6 687	5 938	749
	September(d)	972	487	320	1 393	1 943	5 115	4 530	585
2010-11(d)
	October	567	300	193	898	1 482	3 440	3 066	374
	November	2 687	218	1 105	906	3 534	8 450	6 316	2 134
	December	5 974	2 048	1 217	4 044	4 927	18 210	11 308	6 902
	January	7 825	3 426	1 150	5 415	4 346	22 162	12 468	9 694
(a) Wheat grain is graded by quality.
(b) Includes ACT.
(c) Includes Tas.
(d) The end of September is used to represent the closing stocks of wheat grain prior to the commencement of the next harvest period (October to September).

INQUIRIES

For further information about these and related statistics, contact the National Information and Referral Service on 1300 135 070.