Record volumes of lower quality wheat from India and Australia are set to fill a gap left in Asia's animal feed market by a shortage of corn exports from South America, where drought is expected to reduce output, traders and analysts told Reuters.
Combined wheat production from India and Australia, the second- and fifth-largest wheat growers, respectively, will top 143 million tonnes in the 2021-22 season, more than 20 million tonnes above the yearly average from the two from 2015 to 2020, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) estimates.
As a result, their exports are expected to surge to a record 32.5 million tonnes this season, more than twice the average annual volume for the same period.
While much of these exports will be of food grade quality, a majority of Indian shipments and as much as a third of Australian exports will be suitable for use as animal feed across Asia, the world's largest market for livestock grains.
