AN ONGOING heatwave is fuelling a boilover in the Murray Darling Basin’s irrigation markets.
In the Murrumbidgee prices surged from $520 to $700 a megalitre, after a week of scorching temperatures exceeding 40C.
“Last Wednesday prices were sitting at $430/ML, which irrigators didn’t like, but they dealt with,” Mr Paul Smith said.
“They’re not buying water for any other reason,” Mr McCloskey said.
“A parcel of 100ML (Murrumbidgee water) sold for $700 on Monday.” H2OX brokers attributed part of the surge to last week’s announcement that there would be no further increases in NSW seasonal allocations, with many of the state’s valleys facing significant deficits.
While Victorian Murray irrigators have gained 100 per cent of their allocations and those on the Goulburn 94 per cent, NSW Murray general security users have received nothing.
Demand from almond growers is expected to remain strong, with Mr Smith saying forward contracted water was being offered for next season at $600-$700/ML on the Murray.
As previously reported in The Weekly Times the MD Basin’s largest almond and olive operations are running high-risk strategies, shunning owning water entitlements and instead opting to buy or lease other irrigators’ water each season in the hope prices stay low.
Meanwhile Japanese climate scientists have revised their forecasts for southeast Australia returning to normal conditions this winter, with conditions remaining slightly drier than average until spring.
H2OX broker Lex Batters said the long-term outlooks were looking grim, combined with the heatwave and NSW shortages, all pushing some larger players into buying carryover before the situation got worse.