Latest news with #Pistoia
West Australian
22-05-2025
- Business
- West Australian
Rabobank report forecasts impacts to Australian pulse export sales amidst global supply and demand changes
Changes in global supply and demand may impact Australia's pulse exports, causing minor global headwinds according to Rabobank's recent Australian pulses exports and tariffs report. The Rabobank report said current volatility and shipping costs will give rise to impacted farmgate prices and export margins for pulses — which consists of chickpeas, beans, lentils, lupins, and peas. The report, completed by RaboResearch, said pulse sales in Australia are mainly comprised of lentils, chickpeas, and faba beans in South Asia, particularly in the Middle East and India. RaboResearch senior analyst Vitor Pistoia said those markets are uninvolved in ongoing trade wars. The report said the pea trade can expect changes due to the tariff exchange between the United States and China and impacts on Canada's role as a pea exporter. Canadian peas were slapped with a 100 per cent import tariff from China, while also facing 10 per cent import tariffs on lentils and chickpeas from India at the beginning of 2025. 'The new, complex trade environment is expected to reshape the global pulse trade, but Australia appears to be in a strong position,' Mr Pistoia said. 'India's demand for Australian pulses remains robust, and many other key export markets are not involved in the current trade conflicts.' The tariffs in the US are expected to have a minor impact to global pulse trade according to the report. 'The inflationary effects of these tariffs could dampen global demand for pulses, as many importing countries also have trade surpluses with the US,' Mr Pistoia said. 'Additional, proposed shipping fees could further affect pulse markets by increasing shipping costs into 2026, particularly for containers.'
West Australian
20-05-2025
- Business
- West Australian
WA grain farmers set to plant a bigger grain crop but pull back wheat plantings
WA grain farmers are bolstering their winter crop plantings in line with a national trend that has Australian farmers putting a record 24.5 million hectares in the ground this year. Rabobank's 2025-26 Australian Winter Crop Outlook — released this week — projected a 2.1 per cent increase to WA's cropping area to 8.83 million hectares, up from 8.64 million hectares last year. Crop plantings are forecast to increase across all states, except for South Australia, where drought-like conditions are hitting farmers hard, while dry conditions have also hampered plantings in Victoria. RaboResearch senior analyst and report author Vitor Pistoia said the State's southern cropping areas had received a 'timely rainfall' heralding a 'good start to the season', with early indications of national 53.9 million tonne crop. 'As of mid-May, the weather outlook for the season ahead is for average rainfall for the eastern states and some chance of above average rainfall for WA by spring time,' he said. The outlook report states that an overall rise in planted area across Australia, estimated at 24.5 million hectares, is expected to benefit most crops, except wheat. WA farmers are pulling back their wheat plantings more than farmers in any other states, on the back of rising fertiliser prices, poor prices and a late break meaning farmers have changed their crop rotations. A reduction in sheep flocks and a rise in crops, the rise of oat farming, and a drop in national wheat plantings, were identified as the three largest production shifts in the outlook. The report revealed the Albanese Government's plan to ban live sheep exports by May 2028 had many mixed farmers choosing to 'reduce or eliminate their flocks' which was likely to lead to an increase in feed lotting. . 'This decision is boosting cropping areas and is expected to support area increases in the coming seasons,' the report said. 'It could also lead to an increase in feedlots, which would benefit the industry by reducing its reliance on exports for marketing grains.' Oat plantings are predicted increase due to strong prices with prices reaching up to $450 per tonne. The reduction in wheat was expected in the report, which stated the wheat margin outlook was 'bleak' due to improved soil moisture following a 5.7 per cent increase in the 2024-25 late season break. 'Pulses other than lupins are expanding on the back of better gross margin outlooks, with reports of trials as far north as the Moora-Dalwallinu region,' the report said. Mr Pistoia said the reduction in wheat planting can be credited to a less enthusiastic outlook on wheat prices and crop rotation. 'Overall, this decline in wheat planting is attributed to rising fertiliser prices and less enthusiasm about the outlook for wheat prices,' he said. 'Crop rotation is also a factor, as last year's late seasonal break led to wheat replacing canola and pulses at the eleventh hour and those farmers will now be looking to plant a different crop.' Canola planting in WA has increased minimally by 0.4 per cent to 3.2 million hectares, in comparison to a decline in the eastern states, with Mr Pistoia forecasting it to remain 'virtually stable'. 'There is a supportive outlook for canola, although the price direction varies between genetically-modified and non-GM canola,' he said. 'Geopolitical turmoil is pressuring the GM-canola market, while demand from the EU is driving non-GM fundamentals.'
