NOTES

FORTHCOMING ISSUES

ISSUE	Release Date
April 2010	21 May 2010
May 2010	21 June 2010
June 2010	21 July 2010
July 2010	23 August 2010

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.

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 5846.


KEY POINTS

At the end of March 2010, Australia's bulk storage of wheat grain was estimated at 14.1 million tonnes, which was 10% less than the amount stored at the same time in February 2010. Of the total wheat grain stored by bulk grain handlers, 86% (or 12.1 million tonnes) was milling grade, and 14% (or 1.9 million tonnes) was feed grade.

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
	2008-09(d)
		March(e)	3 685	466	1 327	1 151	4 838	11 467	8 918	2 549
		April	3 412	447	1 286	879	4 084	10 108	7 799	2 309
		May	3 036	378	1 139	671	3 502	8 726	6 778	1 948
		June	2 548	302	973	519	2 656	6 998	5 416	1 582
		July	2 108	260	874	511	2 065	5 818	4 503	1 315
		August	1 730	168	690	362	1 544	4 494	3 452	1 042
		September(d)	1 232	110	531	297	1 251	3 421	2 645	776
	2009-10(d)
		October	1 470	71	1 005	256	922	3 724	3 027	697
		November	4 066	337	1 217	1 716	2 697	10 033	8 590	1 443
		December	4 171	1 557	1 135	3 788	7 137	17 788	15 360	2 428
		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
(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).
(e) From March 2009, the Grain Handlers Stocks Survey (GHSS) has been conducted on a monthly basis. Refer to the Explanatory Notes.

INQUIRIES

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