Grains

Our Industry

Producing over 14 million tonnes of grain each year and contributing over $4.7 billion to the state’s economy, the Western Australian grain sector is the fourth largest resource industry within the state. Unique from other industries, over 80% of Western Australian grain is exported to over 50 countries. The major grains produced within Western Australia include cereals such as wheat and barley, oilseeds including canola and legumes like lupins.

Where is it Produced?

Majority of grain produced in Western Australia is grown within a region named the 'Wheatbelt'. The wheatbelt is located within the south-west corner of the state and covers an area greater than 155,000 square kilometers. The region is divided into 5 subregions which each specialise in the production grains:

Avon
Central Coast
Central East
Central Midlands
Wheatbelt South

Wheat

Western Australia is renowned for producing high quality, clean wheat. Accounting for 70% of total cereal production and 65% of annual grain production, wheat is the largest grain crop produced by the Western Australian grains sector. The white-grain varieties grown within Western Australia produce a white flour which is suitable for the production of a variety of products including:

Udon, ramen and instant noodles
Western, Asian and Eastern style breads
Baked goods such as cakes, biscuits, and pasteries

Barley

Barley is the second largest cereal crop produced within Western Australia and accounts for over $1 billion in exports each year. Similar to wheat, majority of barley is exported, particularly to Japan, China and the Middle East.

Barley production can be broadly seperated into two primary catagories that are based on the variety and quality of the grain: malting and feed barley. Malting barley is procduced for brewing, while as suggested by the name, feed barley is produced as feed for livestock.

Oats

Western Australia is recognised nationally and internationally for producing high quality oats and hay.

Annually, over 600,000 tonnes of oaten grain is produced by the Western Australian grains sector, and contributes $200 million to the state economy. Oats are used to for milling, producing rolled oats, in addition to hay for animal feed.

Conversely to wheat and barley, approximately only 50% of oats is exported to countries such as China, Mexico and India, while 25% is kept on farm and a further 25% is traded domestically.

Canola

Canola is Western Australia's third largest crop with 2.7 million tonnes of canola produced each year, accounting for 40% of Australia's production. Majority of the canola is exported to a wide-range of countries including Japan, China, Belgium and the Netherlands for both human consumption and biofuel production.

Both traditional and genetically modified varieties are grown in the state, however, they are kept strictly seperate throughout the supply chain. In comparison to other states, Western Australian is known for producing canola with a higher oil content. In addition to being economically important, canola has also become an important break crop, used for managing weeds and crop disease.

Lupins

Lupins are well suited to Western Australia's mediteranean climate and acid sandy soils. Western Australia alone produces approximately 85% of the worlds lupins. Majority of the lupins produced in WA are exported to countries such as the Republic of South Korea, Japan and the Netherlands as feed for livestock.

Lupins are regarded as having a high nutritional value as they are high in protein and fibre, and low in oil and starch. In addition, recent research has also suggested that the consumption of the Australian sweet lupin (Lupinus angustifolius) could have additional health benefits such as lowering blood pressure and chlorestrol.