GrainCorp reports 17 per cent surge in net profit
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Australia's biggest grain handler and distributor GrainCorp is a barometer for the health of rural Australia.
GrainCorp's revenue in the half year was up 21 per cent to $4.1 billion.
Net profit rose 17 per cent to $58 million and the interim dividend was steady at 14 cents, with a special dividend of 10 cents.
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News.com.au
an hour ago
- News.com.au
What's driving China's hunger for Aussie beef as exports soar
Grain-fed beef exports to China have ballooned more than 40 per cent this year – and it's not only because of the Asian superpower's trade war with the US. Australia has broken records in the beef export industry so far in 2025, up 15 per cent year-on-year, to reach more than 567,000 tonnes by May. Among the biggest movers has been grain-fed exports to Greater China – which includes Taiwan and Hong Kong – rising 41 per cent to 57,000 tonnes alone. Overall beef exports to Greater China are up 30 per cent this year, rising to 117,000 tonnes in the latest data. These figures reveal how Australian beef exporters have been a big winner of Beijing and Washington's ongoing trade war sparked by Donald Trump's tariff regime. Meat & Livestock Australia general manager of markets Andrew Cox explained the uptick in trade to China had also coincided with a repairing of the political relationship between the two countries in recent years. China only lifted the last of its unofficial trade sanctions on Australian products like meat, wine and barley in December last year, which stemmed from tensions between Beijing and the previous federal government. 'And then of course, more recently, there's been some increased demand because our key competitor in that premium space in China, the US, has been effectively shut-out due to the trade relationship between China and the US.' China previously imported AU$2.5 billion worth of American meat but those products have virtually disappeared from supermarket shelves since Mr Trump's 'Liberation Day' as both countries hit each other with tariffs above 100 per cent. The growing middle class China's growing middle class and rising incomes have seen beef become a more popular source of protein – particularly premium cuts like wagyu – than it was historically. A snapshot collated by Meat & Livestock Australia shows 74 per cent of affluent Chinese consumers believe Australian beef is 'the most delicious', while it also scored highly for freshness and safety. Mr Cox, who has been in the industry for 20 years, said he remembered when Chinese trade figures were a 'rounding error' on the export database. 'Now they're the world's biggest beef importer and it's got more runway to grow,' he said. 'We've seen urbanisation, an emerging and growing middle class numbering in the hundreds of millions. And they have a demand for quality and safe protein.' Tammi Jonas, a farmer and spokeswoman for the Australian Food Sovereignty Alliance, predicted China to hoover up Aussie beef after the tariffs were announced in April. 'China has just turned immediately and said, 'Yep, that looks great. We'll have more Australian beef',' she told this week. Ms Jonas, however, has also warned of the potential for beef prices in Australian grocery stores to go up as exporters send more stock overseas. 'China buys a full range of everything from cheaper cuts to the more expensive ones,' she said. 'They have a rapidly growing middle class, so they demand more of the premium beef than historically they did. 'And Japan is the same, they both like a lot of the premium cuts from here. 'So that's direct competition with premium cuts in Australian supermarkets.' Tariffs and US trade The US President, in his April 2 speech, singled out an unbalanced beef trade as justification for slapping a blanket 10 per cent tariff on all Australian-made products. 'They won't take any of our beef. They don't want it because they don't want it to affect their farmers and, you know, I don't blame them, but we're doing the same thing right now, starting at midnight tonight,' Mr Trump said. Despite this, US importers have taken in 167,000 tonnes of Australian beef in 2025 – with its 32 per cent growth outstripping that of China. Australia's meat exports to the US totalled around $4 billion in 2024, while America has been dealing with drought conditions that have squeezed domestic cattle supply. It was revealed on Friday that the Australian government was considering relaxing biosecurity laws to allow more American beef into the country as part of tariff negotiations. Beef from the US was banned in 2003 after the breakout of mad cow disease, and since 2019 there have been strict conditions for meat products to enter Australia. The move has seen some pushback from farmers, with National Farmers Federation president David Jochinke telling the Sydney Morning Herald that protecting biosecurity was paramount for the industry. 'Let's be abundantly clear, our biosecurity isn't a bargaining chip,' he said. 'We have the world's best standards, backed by science, and that's how it needs to stay.' Cattle Australia chief executive Chris Parker on Friday said US beef producers have had access to Australian markets since 2019, provided they could show animals were born raised and slaughtered in the US. 'Our position is that the US needs to be able to demonstrate it can either trace cattle born in Mexico and Canada, or has systems that are equivalent to Australia's traceability, before imports of meat could occur from non-US cattle,' Dr Parker said. 'Cattle Australia is in ongoing communication with the Federal Government regarding this issue and the vital importance that our science-based biosecurity system is not compromised as part of trade discussions with any country.' Domestic prices So far beef prices has remained steady for farmers, as demand from importers means strong paydays along the supply chain, Ms Jonas said. 'The big exporters (in Australia) are rubbing their hands and just filling that market rapidly,' she said. 'And the more that market opens up, the more pressure it puts on domestic pricing. 'So supermarket beef, like we like we said several months ago, supermarkets beef is definitely going to keep going up in price.' Mr Cox said predicting prices was like weather forecasting but added that Australia already exported 75 per cent of the beef produced here. 'For the Australian farmer to be sustainable for that cultural sector, we need customers all around the world,' he said. 'We produce more food than we eat domestically and we're highly reliant on export markets.'
News.com.au
an hour ago
- News.com.au
New owner for rundown Toorak mansion with a wild history
A dilapidated Toorak mansion with a colourful history has fetched more than $5m. Named Cloyne, the circa-1926 Georgian Revival house at 611 Toorak Rd was scheduled to go under the hammer on Saturday. But due to a high level of interest from buyers, a boardroom auction for the property was held on Thursday. Jellis Craig Stonnington director Nathan Waterson declined to comment on the sold price but industry insiders indicated the five-bedroom home changed hands for a figure above the $4.75m-$5.225m asking range. The abode featuring a ballroom and a pool flanked by lion statues was previously owned by Louis Nelken, who was reportedly a butler to King George VI. In 1935, newspapers covered a reception that Mr Nelken and his wife Lesley held for guests to meet the then-political candidate for the seat of Fawkner, Harold Holt. Mr Holt later became the Australian Prime Minister and disappeared while swimming near Portsea in 1967. The Nelken's parties often made the gossip columns including a 1948 Melbourne Cup eve soiree they hosted for 300 people. Two years later, thieves broke into Cloyne and stole £5500 worth of jewellery, drank a bottle of Mr Nelken's beer and smoked his cigarettes. In the 1960s, Melbourne playboy and pilot Don Busch owned Cloyne before it was sold to hotelier William Drever. The mansion, which is protected under a heritage overlay, was designed by influential Australian architect Harold Desbrowe-Annear. Its interior has been subject to partial renovations across past years and requires significant work to restore its former glory. Three bidders contested the auction for Cloyne including one Canberra-based buyer, although the house was bought by a Melbourne family. 'I would say that all parties were there due to the architectural heritage of the home, the Harold Desbrowe-Annear design was a drawcard for a lot of people,' Mr Waterson said. According to PropTrack, Victoria recorded a preliminary 68.4 per cent clearance rate from 250 early auction results this week. About 1058 homes are expected to go under the hammer across the state next week.
News.com.au
3 hours ago
- News.com.au
Shore teen awarded $275k over long jump injury
EXCLUSIVE A 17-year-old Shore student has successfully sued his primary school for more than $275,000 after injuring himself while competing in the long jump at his Year 6 athletics carnival. In 2019, the teenager participated in the long jump trial competition at Neutral Bay Public School and fell onto his back on his fifth or sixth attempt at age 11. He told the court he experienced 'immediate back pain' and has suffered from back problems ever since. The student took the case to the NSW District Court, claiming the school – and, in turn, the state of NSW – was 'vicariously liable in negligence' for failing to ensure there was adequate sand in the landing area and that it was properly raked. In October 2024, a judge ruled in favour of the state of NSW. However, the teenager successfully appealed the decision, with a fresh judgment handed down on Friday. The appeals panel ruled that the student be awarded $276,500 in damages plus interest. In the original judgment, District Court Judge Robert Newlinds SC ruled that while the student had 'suffered ongoing back pain', the teenager had successfully gone on to excel in the school's rowing team, athletics, basketball and soccer. He was also 'not satisfied' that the school failed to take adequate precautions against the risk of harm, as they were checking and raking the sand level 'every two or three jumps'. However, the panel ruled the school should have checked and raked the sand level after each student's turn. The panel also ruled that while the student had gone on to enjoy athletics, he would continue to have lifelong pain, which could affect his future income. 'In his oral evidence below, [the student] was asked what jobs he had in mind after he left school. He said that he had a few ideas, including possibly going into finance or an IT job like his mother,' the panel decision said. 'He then added that he appreciated that those jobs would involve a lot of sitting and not moving and that if he was to work in finance and was sitting down for most of the day, he would 'have a lot of pain and it's going to make the job quite hard.' The court also heard that teen had worked as a basketball referee in the amount of $16 a game prior to the incident, which he was now unable to do. 'There are undoubted risks in school sports, but they form part of the curriculum in many primary schools and the community rightly recognises that such activities are beneficial for young children when properly supervised,' the panel decision stated. 'I am comfortably satisfied that there was a breach of duty on the part of the School in failing to take reasonable precautions to minimise the risk of injury from long jumping.'
