CROP OVERVIEW | GROWING REGIONS | BRIEF HISTORY | ECONOMICS OF
DURUM PRODUCTION
SOUTHERN
AUGUST 2017
SECTION A
INTRODUCTION
DURUM
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Introduction
Key messages:
• Premium durum grain is known for its hardness, protein, intense yellow colour,
nutty flavour and excellent cooking qualities.
• It has vitreous, amber-coloured kernels with a minimum protein of 13%.
• Durum wheat differs from the other wheats in having endosperm that does not
break into fine flour when milled but into coarse semolina, ideal for pasta making.
• In south-eastern Australia durum is grown primarily under rain fed conditions
(sown in May–June) characterised by dry, hot summers alternating with humid
and temperate winters (harvested in November–December). 1
A.3 Crop overview
Durum wheat (Photo 1; Triticum turgidum L. subsp. durum Desf. Husn.) or pasta wheat
is an important crop for the human diet and is known for its hardness, protein, intense
yellow colour, nutty flavour and excellent cooking qualities. 2 In Australia, durum
production averages ~400,000 tonnes (t) but has fluctuated substantially between
~50,000 and 800,000 t over the period 1995–2008. 3 In 2005–06, production was
~450,000 t, with New South Wales (NSW) accounting for around 67% and South
Australia (SA) around 26% of current production (Table 2). The balance is produced in
Queensland, Victoria and. Western Australia (WA). 4
Australian durum (ADR1) consists of selected wheat varieties with vitreous, amber-
coloured kernels with a minimum protein of 13%. Durum wheat differs from the other
wheats in having endosperm that does not break into fine flour when milled but into
coarse semolina, ideal for pasta making. The free-milling grain is capable of achieving
high yields of superior quality semolina with minimal residual flour production. The
semolina produced from this specialised wheat exhibits high levels of stable yellow
pigment and high water absorption, making it ideally suited to the production of a
wide range of high quality wet and dry pasta products with excellent colour and shelf
life. Durum is produced primarily in SA, northern NSW, Queensland and areas where
hard and prime hard wheat are grown. There is growing production within the
Wimmera district of Victoria. Tonnages produced are sufficient to satisfy domestic
requirements and, increasingly, international market demands. 5
Photo 1: Durum wheat.
Photo: Rachel Bowman
1 M Sissons, B Ovenden, D Adorada, A Milgate (2014) Durum wheat quality in high-input irrigation systems in south-eastern Australia.
Crop and Pasture Science, 65(5), 411-422
2 M Sissons (2004) Pasta. In Encyclopedia of grain science. (Eds C Wrigley, H Corke, C Walker), Elsevier Academic Press: London
3 R Ranieri, G Worden, ML Seghezzo, C Mills (2012) Marketing perspectives in the durum wheat trade. In Durum wheat chemistry and
technology, 2nd edn (Eds M Sissons, J Abecassis, B Marchylo, M Carcea) AACC International: Saint Paul, Minnesota, USA
4 J Kneipp (2008) Durum wheat production. NSW Department of Primary Industries, November 2008, http://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/__data/
assets/pdf_file/0010/280855/Durum-wheat-production-report.pdf
5 AWB (2014) Australian wheat. Australia Wheat Board, http://www.awb.com.au/customers/australianwheat/
FAQ
http://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0010/280855/Durum-whea…
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Over the last few years, increasing emphasis has been placed on supplying wheat
of specific qualities as flour milling and processing industries overseas have become
more sophisticated. Current markets require wheat grades in which there is a
balance between grain hardness and protein content for different end uses. Figure
1 shows the relevant protein hardness values and the different end uses for each
grade of wheat.
Figure 1:
%
p
ro
te
in
in
w
he
at
type of grain
15
14
13
12
11
soft mixed hard durum
10
9
cakes
biscuits
pastry
filler
thickeners
puddings
grocery
canned
goods
yellow
(Chinese)
noodles
white
(Japanese)
noodles
chapattis
bread
support in
bread grist
high protein
flour
pasta
Balance between protein content, hardness and end-product
requirements.
Source: Weston Milling
Durum wheat should only be grown on highly fertile soils where high protein grain
can be produced, as protein levels >13% are required to meet premium market
grades. Protein levels below 10% can be marketed only as feed, although grain
with a protein between 10-13% can still be marketed as lower grade durum. 6 In
south- eastern Australia durum is grown primarily under rain fed conditions (sown in
May–June) characterised by dry, hot summers alternating with humid and temperate
winters (harvested in November–December). 7
New breeding material has shown promise in the lower rainfall areas with yields
similar to bread wheat varieties in average seasons. Durum varieties tend to be
more sensitive to low levels of zinc and trials have given large yield increases with
the application of zinc where zinc was limiting. In areas where high protein wheat
can consistently be produced, newer durum varieties may be a profitable option,
especially when there is a large price differential between durum and hard wheat. 8
On receival at a mill, durum grains are cleaned to remove chaff and foreign material.
Grain is then milled to remove the bran and germ. The remaining endosperm is
cracked into coarse pieces and then ground very, very finely into semolina for pasta
making. ADR1 yields high levels of top quality gluten, associated with high grain
6 J Kneipp (2008) Durum wheat production. NSW Department of Primary Industries, November 2008, http://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/__data/
assets/pdf_file/0010/280855/Durum-wheat-production-report.pdf
7 M Sissons, B Ovenden, D Adorada, A Milgate (2014) Durum wheat quality in high-input irrigation systems in south-eastern Australia.
Crop and Pasture Science, 65(5), 411-422
8 PIRSA. http://pir.sa.gov.au/__data/assets/word_doc/0005/241583/Impact_of_dry_so...
http://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0010/280855/Durum-whea…
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protein. This means the pasta dough has good stretch, texture and durability and is
able to hold its shape when cooked. 9
A.4 Growing regions
The southern durum growing region stretches from Victoria, Tasmania and South
Australia and the south-west corner of Western Australia. The rainfall pattern ranges
from uniform in central New South Wales through to winter-dominant in Victoria,
Tasmania, South Australia and Western Australia.
This is a vast region of the country, with a typically Mediterranean climate of dry
summers and comparatively reliable winter rainfall lending itself to winter crop
production.
Planting of the winter crop depends on “opening rains” and usually begins in May and
can continue through until late July. The winter crop harvest can begin in late October
and continue through until January in the higher rainfall areas. 10
Durum is grown through Victoria, Tasmania and SA (Table 1) up to central NSW (south
of Dubbo) and through the south-west corner of WA. Rainfall patterns range from
winter-dominant in Victoria, Tasmania, SA and WA through to uniform in central NSW.
9 GRDC (2014) Durum quality and agronomy fact sheet. Grains Research and Development Corporation, March 2014, https://grdc.com.au/
GRDC-FS-Durum
10 AEGIC (2016) Australian grain production—a snapshot, http://aegic.org.au/australian-grain-production-a-snapshot/
▶ VIDEOS
WAtCH: GCtV8: durum in demand.
https://grdc.com.au/GRDC-FS-Durumhttps://grdc.com.au/GRDC-FS-Durumhttp:…
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Table 1: Crop estimates by district in South Australian growing regions. South
Australia’s area of Durum production in 2016/2017. Greatest production was centred
in Upper South East, Yorke Peninsula, Upper North and Mid North districts.
Western
Eyre
Peninsula
Lower Eyre
Peninsula
Eastern
Eyre
Peninsula
Yorke
Peninsula
Upper
North
Mid North Lower
North
Kangaroo
Island
Wheat ha 477 000 145 000 392 000 165 000 236 000 234 000 56 500 5 700
t 955 000 553 000 1 019 000 676 000 637 000 936 000 243 000 12 500
Durum ha 0 0 0 20 000 9 500 8 500 6 500 0
t 0 0 0 71 000 26 500 33 500 25 000 0
Central
Hills &
Fleurieu
Lower
Murray
Nth Murray
Mallee
Sth Murray
Mallee
Upper
South East
Lower
South East
State Total
Wheat ha 4 500 66 000 245 000 124 000 65 000 22 000 2 237 700
t 11 000 164 000 490 000 322 000 188 000 70 000 6 276 500
Durum ha 300 600 300 0 9 500 0 55 200
t 650 1 300 500 0 24 000 0 182 450
Source: Primary Industries and Regions SA
A.5 Brief history
Durum wheat was first produced in Australia in the early 1930s. Due to a combination
of strong international prices, very high quality grain and improved export marketing
facilities, Australian durum wheat production has made impressive growth from
around 8,000 tonnes produced in northern NSW and SA in the late 1970s to current
domestic production of around 500,000 tonnes. 11
The Australian durum wheat industry is highly competitive with the leading overseas
producers (i.e. Canada, the United States, the European Union, Turkey and Syria).
Australian durum quality is now regarded by Italian millers and producers as the best
in the world.
Table 2: Historical durum wheat production in Australia, 1994–2007
(tonnes by State).
Season Queensland NSW Victoria SA WA Total
production
(tonnes)
1994–95 2,000 2,000 0 33,000 0 37,000
1995–96 6,000 55,000 0 65,000 1,000 127,000
1996–97 5,997 210,000 0 51,000 0 266,997
1997–98 4,971 200,600 0 82,601 0 288,172
1998–99 10,737 303,730 0 84,429 984 399,880
1999–00 51,382 527,358 0 142,423 5,120 726,283
2000–01 6,334 138,696 0 269,524 4,009 418,830
2001–02 6,033 380,696 0 405,565 4,142 796,283
2002–03 8,100 55,000 0 162,000 3,000 228,100
2003–04 47,700 337,000 2,000 217,900 6,895 611,495
2004–05 50,000 375,000 2,000 220,000 7,000 654,000
2005–06 16,230 297,135 6,500 117,086 5,200 442,151
11 DPI NSW. (2016). Durum wheat production. http://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/agriculture/broadacre-crops/winter-crops/wheat...
other-winter-cereals/durum-wheat-production
http://www.pir.sa.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0005/285035/Crop_and_Pa…
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Season Queensland NSW Victoria SA WA Total
production
(tonnes)
2006–07 10,000 125,000 10,000 50,000 5,000 200,000
5-year
average
26,406 237,827 5,125 153,397 5,419 427,149
Source: NSW Department of Primary Industries
Durum from southern Australia is also used in Coopers home brew kits which are
shipped around the globe. 12
The San Remo pasta manufacturer, in Adelaide, is the largest Australian user of durum
at approximately 100,000 t annually (2008 data). This is forecast to rise to 200,000 t
by 2023. The other major user is the food manufacturer Rinoldi, in Melbourne. 13
A.6 Economics of durum production
When grown using best production practices and under optimal conditions, durum
can produce higher profits than bread wheat (Table 3). 14 GRDC has worked with
the South Australian Grain Industry Trust (SAGIT) and the Government of South
Australia to develop a Farm Gross Margin and Enterprise Planning Guide which
includes durum.
Table 3: Summary of calculations for gross margins in the 2016 bread wheat and
durum wheat trials conducted as part of UA415 sponsored through SAGIT.
Bread / durum gross margin analysis 2016
Low Yield Low Yield High Yield High Yield Average Actual
Low Price High Price Low Price High Price GM Best GM
Coonalpyn Bread 702 862 802 980 817 912
Durum 1462 1737 1816 2146 1834 2035
Roseworthy Bread 686 823 1095 1290 929 1095
Durum 1697 1697 2176 2176 2019 2176
Sanderston Bread 819 961 892 1044 947 1044
Durum 258 1246 294 1357 1060 1357
Wandereah Bread 380 475 562 684 539 684
Durum 1164 1164 1385 1385 1284 1385
Yeelanna Bread 359 629 548 898 655 790
Durum 303 1067 353 1191 711 1067
Notes: The calculations for these gross margin figures can be found in the supporting documents. When assessing the gross margins the
following points should be noted:
1. Input prices are as charged to the durum breeding group, and are in general higher than a farmer would pay due to product size.
2. Delivery charges and rail freight are to the nearest silo, and have been taken from either Viterra or AWB websites.
3. It is assumed all durum would be delivered to Balaklava, unless it only made feed quality in which case it would go to the nearest silo.
4. If screenings was the only limiting factor to a higher grade being paid, a cost of $14 per tonne was deducted and the yield lowered to the
amount it would be with 5% screenings. No value was placed on screenings. This makes the assumption that the protein will not drop
with the removal of screenings.
5. These calculations do not consider a carry-over price or put a value on the need to store grain on farm, it only looks at a hectare of crop
in the field.
6. At Sanderston, the farmer applied a protective application of rust control which was applied to both bread and durum. The durum did not
need this spray and it has not been included in the cost of production.
7. The high, low, and average refer to the 4 durum and 4 bread wheat varieties grown in these trials.
12 PIRSA (2016) South Australia food and wine: key messages and fast facts, April 2016, http://pir.sa.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_
file/0020/271208/SA_Food_and_Wine_Key_Messages_Fast_Facts.pdf
13 J Kneipp (2008) Durum wheat production. NSW Department of Primary Industries, November 2008, http://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/__data/
assets/pdf_file/0010/280855/Durum-wheat-production-report.pdf
14 SAGIT. (2016). Growing durum demand in SA: gross margin sensitivity analysis trials. http://durumgrowerssa.org.au/wp-content/
uploads/2017/02/UA415-Supplementary-File-1_2016.pdf
http://www.nvtonline.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/Crop-Guide-NSW-D…
