Huge wheat harvest coming in Australia for a hungry world

Farmers are sowing winter wheat at a near-record pace in Australia, one of the world's largest exporters of the grain.

High prices and supportive seasonal conditions have spurred growers to increase the planted area for wheat by 1%, while for canola it's expanded 12% to a record. Wheat production is estimated at 30.3 million tons in 2022-23, or 22% above the 10-year average, says government forecaster Abares.

The prospect of more supply from Australia will be welcome news for global importers, after wheat prices hit a record following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Agribusiness has always been an iconic part of ASX's history and identity, and increasing desire among investors to include agriculture-related stocks in their portfolio prompted the Australian Securities Exchange to launch an agribusiness index last week.

Data provided by ASX showed the ASX's Agribusiness Index would have outperformed the benchmark ASX 200 between January 2017 and May 2022 at 40 per cent compared to 23 per cent.

ASX capital markets head of strategic delivery Ken Chapman said the new index would "shine a spotlight" on Australian agribusiness and primary producers that are now playing a more significant role amid "megatrends" of food security crises, geopolitical tensions and supply chain impacts, greater demand for higher-quality produce from Asia, concerns over climate risk, and emerging technologies disrupting the sector.