Glacier FarmMedia — Australia’s 2025/26 barley harvest is underway and early expectations for a record should see the country as an active participant in the world export market going forward.
Australia exported 8.23 million tonnes of barley in the 2024/25 marketing year that ended in September, with seven million tonnes of feed barley and the remainder malt barley, reported the Australian Bureau of Statistics. China was the largest customer, accounting for more than 70 per cent of the total barley exports.
Why it matters: Australian barley competes with Canadian exports into key Asian markets
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Australia grew 14.55 million tonnes of barley in 2024/25, with both production and exports hitting their third highest level on record. Early estimates for 2025/26 suggest production above 16 million tonnes — which would be a new record for the country and could lead to record exports.
“That creates the opportunity for a record export program of more than nine million tonnes, along with a recovery of carry-out stocks back to above average — a rare combination,” said Sam Roache of Compass Grain in a Grains Central article.
Roache said Australian barley prices will need to stay competitive to both China and secondary destinations this season to maximise the share of demand.
“We do not see the same bones for a big rally versus last year, with considerable oversupply and a recovery from the drought conditions in southern Australia, which were the main driver of the rally in (South Australia), Victoria and southern New South Wales this year,” said Roache.
Canada has already exported just over a million tonnes of barley through the first 13 weeks of the 2025/26 marketing year that began in August. That’s roughly double the movement by the same time a year ago. While Canadian canola exports have all been shut out of China, the country remains a top buyer of barley, with Saudi Arabia also showing increased demand for feed barley early in the 2025/26 marketing year.
Canada’s 2025/26 barley crop was estimated at 8.2 million tonnes by Statistics Canada, which compares with 8.1 million tonnes the previous year. Early estimates from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada call for exports to hold steady on the year at 2.8 million tonnes, with carryout dipping to 1.0 million tonnes from 1.2 million.
