FARMERS' post-harvest marketing sales have ramped up in recent weeks with the Clear Grain Exchange breaking a number of daily records in recent weeks.
After the summer holiday hiatus, farmers are back in earnest looking for opportunities to sell unpriced grain, with big volumes going through the online trading platform.
On February 14, CGX traded a record 102,253 tonnes of Australian grain, with a value of $38 million.
It smashed the previous record of 74,291t set just 10 days earlier.
Brett Hosking, Grain Growers chairman, said grain growers were still holding onto stocks and selling when they saw opportunity.
"There is still quite a bit of grain unsold, farmers are looking for prices to hit the levels they believe are warranted given global values," Mr Hosking said.
CGX managing director Nathan Cattle said growers were finding good value on the exchange, especially given the increased number of buyers available.
"The number of grower businesses registered on the exchange is now over 20,000," Mr Cattle said.
"There are just over 100 grower agent or consulting businesses registered, and more than 300 grain buyers."
And he said, more importantly, that those registered were actively using the exchange.
"In 2021, 4,294 growers and 36 agent businesses sold grain through the exchange and 87 different buyers bought grain."
Mr Cattle said a pattern was emerging where new users often use the exchange for price discovery while continuing to sell or buy via their traditional channels.
"We appreciate the support from the grain industry and believe our users are creating value that would otherwise go unrealised," he said.
"It's evident in the price of grains trading on the exchange often being stronger than prices published in the market through traditional channels such as cash boards and advertised contract prices."
"Often grain will trade on the exchange $10-15/t above the best published bid on the day.
To support its growth, CGX is in the process of a major upgrade of its technology.
"The release of our upgraded technology stack is exciting for us as it enables us to push ahead and develop our products and services further," Mr Cattle said.
"Our users will see some immediate benefits such as a more mobile friendly website, more ways to place offers and bids on the exchange, and improved invoices to name a few."
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Gregor Heard
Gregor Heard is ACM's national grains industry reporter, based in Horsham, Victoria. He has a wealth of knowledge surrounding the cropping sector through his 15 years in the role. Prior to that he was with the Fairfax network as a reporter with Stock & Land. Some of the major issues he has reported on during his time with the company include the deregulation of the export wheat market, the introduction of genetically modified crops and the fight to protect growers better from grain trader insolvencies. Still involved with the family farm he is passionate about rural Australia and its people and hopes to use his role to act as an advocate for those involved in the grain sector.
Gregor Heard is ACM's national grains industry reporter, based in Horsham, Victoria. He has a wealth of knowledge surrounding the cropping sector through his 15 years in the role. Prior to that he was with the Fairfax network as a reporter with Stock & Land. Some of the major issues he has reported on during his time with the company include the deregulation of the export wheat market, the introduction of genetically modified crops and the fight to protect growers better from grain trader insolvencies. Still involved with the family farm he is passionate about rural Australia and its people and hopes to use his role to act as an advocate for those involved in the grain sector.
