February 19, 2008

Australia expects bigger sorghum, wheat and barley crop for 07/08 

An official forecast of Australia's 2007-08 sorghum crop was revised up Tuesday (February 19, 2008) to a record 2.5 million tonnes, from a December estimate of 2.0 million tonnes and actual old crop output of 1.4 million tonnes.

If the forecast comes true, it would in effect mean a nearly 80 percent increase over the old crop.

Production from the 2007-08 wheat crop was revised up to 13.1 million tonnes from a December estimate of 12.7 million tonnes, 23.6 percent higher than actual output of 10.6 million tonnes last crop year ended March 31, 2007.

New crop barley production now is estimated at 5.9 million tonnes, up from a December estimate of 5.5 million tonnes and up 40 percent from actual old crop output of 4.2 million tonnes.

The forecasts are in the latest Crop Report issued by the government's chief commodities forecaster, the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics, or Abare.

Phillip Glyde, Abare's executive director, said the upward revision to the sorghum production forecast reflected average to above average rainfall since October in parts of Queensland and northern New South Wales.

"While recent flooding around Emerald in Queensland damaged some of central Queensland's grain sorghum crop, the increased yield potential in the southern Queensland grain sorghum growing regions will more than offset the losses," he said.

Sorghum is the major summer feedgrain produced in Australia.