February 17, 2009

Production from the 2008-09 wheat crop was revised up to 21.4 million tonnes from a December forecast of 20.0 million tonnes, the government's chief commodities forecaster, the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics, or Abare.

Production this crop year ending March 31, 2009, is up 65 percent from actual output of 13.0 million tonnes from a drought-affected crop last year, according to Abare's quarterly Crop Report.

Barley production this crop year now is estimated at 6.8 million tonnes, up from a December estimate of 6.4 million tonnes and up from an actual 5.9 million tonnes in 2007-08, it reported.

Wheat and barley are the major components of an estimate for total production from winter crops this crop year of 32.9 million tonnes, up 7.5 percent from a December estimate and up 46 percent on year, it said.

Canola production this crop year now is estimated at 1.6 million tonnes, up from 1.3 million tonnes in December and up from 1.1 million tonnes in 2007-08.

Abare held unchanged from December, at 2.1 million tonnes, its production estimate from a sorghum crop planted in calendar 2008 and harvested in calendar 2009. Output last year was 3.1 million tonnes.