Over two days in early February, the annual Western Australian noodle wheat industry consultations took place between GIWA, AEGIC, CBH and a 16-person visiting delegation from the Japanese Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) and the Japan Flour Millers Association (JFMA). Noodle wheat supply and quality matters were discussed, and the delegation was also briefed by plant breeders InterGrain and AGT on potential new noodle varieties in the breeding pipeline.
GIWA, AEGIC, CBH and InterGrain co-hosted a welcome dinner for the group which was attended by The Hon. Jackie Jarvis MLC, Minister for Agriculture and Food, Forestry and Small Business and Yasushi Naito, Consul General of Japan, Perth.
On behalf of the WA grain industry, GIWA, AEGIC and CBH have an established, formal process to communicate with both MAFF and JFMA to provide them with information through the WA growing season on seasonal conditions and how this may affect noodle wheat volumes and grain quality at harvest. Every year as the WA grain harvest nears completion, GIWA, AEGIC and CBH review the noodle wheat delivery and grain quality data and make a formal recommendation to MAFF and JFMA concerning the optimal blend of noodle wheat grades, known as the ASWJ blend, required to satisfy the volume and quality requirements required by the Japan market for the coming 12months until the next WA harvest.
The dry conditions experienced in many parts of the WA grain belt in the 2023 growing season resulted in noodle wheat deliveries being significantly lower, and average grain protein levels being much higher than the two previous seasons. However, with some carryover from the 2022 and 2021 seasons still in the bulk handling system, there are sufficient stocks of the ANW and APWN wheat grades that make up the ASWJ blend available to supply the anticipated demand. Protein parameters for the ASWJ blend have had to be adjusted however to account for the high protein 2023 season. Noodle wheat traders are advised that the following is expected to take affect with March 2024 tenders:
The blend ratio has been reviewed in January 2024. It is forecast that there is sufficient supply volumes of ANW and APWN and therefore the blend ratio will remain unchanged at:
80% ANW 1 & ANW 2
20% APWN
Min protein 10.0% / max protein 11.2%
(Min protein changed from previous 9.4%, Max protein changed from previous 11.0%)
More information, and a list of current ANW & APWN varieties can be found here .
Technical staff from AEGIC will again visit Japan and Korea over the next month or two to work with those country’s flour millers and noodle manufacturers to ensure they are getting the best performance out of our noodle wheat, especially given the significant jump in grain protein that resulted from the dry 2023 season. This technical support helps WA maintain its status as the preferred source of noodle wheat.
