News
16.02.2010
Australia produced 21.656 million tonnes of wheat during the 2009/10 harvest that has just finished, down from a December estimate of 21.993 million tonnes, the government's commodity forecaster said on Tuesday.
Australia produced 21.656 million tonnes of wheat during the 2009/10 harvest that has just finished, down from a December estimate of 21.993 million tonnes, the government's commodity forecaster said on Tuesday.
The Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics (ABARE) said the estimate is up from 20.938 million tonnes harvested by the world's fourth largest wheat exporter in 2008/09 and above the five-year average of 19.516 million tonnes.
About 15 million tonnes from the 2009/10 harvest is likely to be exported.
Western Australia, the country's top grain exporting state harvested about 8.2 million tonnes of wheat, slightly higher than last season's production, mainly because of a larger area sown to wheat.
ABARE will make its first forecast of the 2010/11 crop on March 2 at its annual outlook conference in Canberra but private forecasters suggest a smaller crop is likely as farmers take account of lower prices and rising input costs for items such as fertiliser and fuel.
Wheat hit record prices in February 2008 above $US13 per bushel on the Chicago Board of Trade but are now trading under $US5 per bushel following bumper crops being planted globally in response to the record prices two years ago.
The commodity forecaster said total winter crop production including crops such as barley and canola was estimated to have jumped 4 per cent in 2009/10 from a year earlier to 35.2 million tonnes.
It said barley output in 2009/10 was 8.048 million tonnes compared to 7.669 million tonnes a year earlier and a five-year average of 7.804 million tonnes.
Canola production in 2009/10 was forecast at 1.910 million tonnes compared with 1.861 million tonnes a year before and a five-year average of 1.290 million tonnes. ABARE also forecast Australia's 2009/10 cotton harvest will yield 371,000 tonnes, down from a December estimate of 374,000 tonnes but above 329,000 tonnes harvested in 2008/09.
Australia's five-year average annual cotton output was 405,000 tonnes with recent production being reduced by a lack of water availability which ABARE said remained a critical issue.
"Although heavy rainfall in most parts of the Australian cotton industry in the last week of 2009 came too late to increase cotton plantings in 2009-10, it is expected to support dryland cotton yields and ensure adequate water supplies to finish most irrigated cotton crops this season," ABARE said.
Business Spectator
