Miller Magazine Issue: 143 November 2021

88 Country Profile MILLER / november 2021 The eastern states will generally export, but during times of drought, the grain will flow inland to head to both the feed and flour industries. It is important not to confuse Australia as one homogenous nation; it has many different factors influencing trade flows. THE FALL OF SHEEP, THE RISE OF WHEAT Australia has also been a nation of two major farming enterprises, wheat and sheep. While Aus- tralia now supports a heavily diversified economy, that was not always the case. For much of mod- ern Australia's existence, the country 'rode on the sheeps back'. This was a popular expression, as much of the wealth of the nation was centred by our sheep and wool industry. The sheep and wool industry has been in decline since the 1990s, with numbers of sheep and wool production falling. The fall of sheep has coincided with an increase in the area of land dedicated to cropping. Due to productivity and technological advances, land which was previously unsuitable for cropping has become viable. In recent years sheep operations have become more profitable; however, there is limited move- ment from cropping back into sheep operations. A POST-DROUGHT RECOVERY While Australia is a nation of two sides, Australia has suffered through drought during the 2018 and 2019 seasons. The 2019 season saw production fall to 14.5mmt, the lowest since 2007. These drought events lead to the requirement of transhipments from Western Australia to the eastern states in large quantities. Additionally, the rare import of whole wheat from Canada commenced; this is exceptionally rare and expensive due to the rigorous biosecurity proto- cols. The subsequent season's post-drought, has seen the tables flip. The 2020 and the current season have seen beneficial rains, which have been con- ducive to strong yields. 2020 was record large, and 2021 is likely to be the second-largest crop on re- cord. This has allowed the nation's grain growers to re- cover from the financial losses experienced in the previous two years. As important as the financial stability of farmers, it has also opened up inflows of capital and allowed the supply chain to return to normal levels of operation. In 2021, Australia will continue to export large vol- umes of wheat into the global market and return to some of our typical customers throughout Asia. A LARGE EXPORT TASK Australia has had big crops before (2016/17), and we will have big crops again. It is quite rare to have such huge crops two years in a row. Let's look at the export program. Chart 7 Chart 8 Chart 9