LOGISTICS company Qube’s first grain train for the 2020 harvest has left from QubeAgri at Coonamble bound for Quattro Ports grain terminal at Port Kembla.
Coonamable is on the north-western plains of New South Wales, west of Coonabarabran and north-west of Gilgandra.
According to Qube, the first indications are that this season will be “a strong harvest after several years of drought conditions”.
According to the Australian Bureau of Agriculture and Resource Economics, “seasonal conditions in New South Wales have been excellent this season with above to very much above average rainfall from March to August in nearly all winter cropping regions”.
“Winter crop production is forecast to rise to 14.8m tonnes in 2020–21, 49% above the 10-year average to 2019–20 and the largest winter crop since 2016–17,” ABARES stated.
“Winter crop yields are forecast to be above average reflecting the ideal seasonal conditions to date and the positive outlook for spring rainfall.”
According to ABARES:
- NSW wheat production is forecast to be just under 10.3m tonnes in 2020–21, 58% above the 10-year average to 2019–20;
- Barley production is forecast to be 2.5m tonnes in 2020–21, 52% above the 10-year average to 2019–20;
- Canola production is forecast to reach 869,000 tonnes in 2020–21, 2% below the 10-year average to 2019–20.
QubeAgri’s receival and storage locations in Narromine and Coonamble have the combined ability to hold about 280,000 tonnes of grain at any time servicing the Central West region of New South Wales.
Qube says it provides “full-service logistics direct from paddock to port”.
Grain has been one of the industries caught up in the trade dispute between Australia and China.
The Asian giant recently announced restrictions on imports of Australian barley, an important ingredient in beer production.
