November 9, 2006

Rains lifts summer crop outlook in Australia 
 

Rains in the past 10 days in northern New South Wales and southern Queensland states have lifted the outlook for summer crops, with Tom Keene, managing director of grain services company GrainCorp Ltd. (GNC.AU), expecting significant plantings through to mid-December.

The success of the summer sorghum crop will be a key factor in determining how much, if any, livestock feed grain is imported into Australia to supplement thin local supplies.

Turning to winter crops, mostly wheat, Keene said about 1 million tonnes has been received into the company's upcountry storage sites in Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria states.

In central Queensland, one of the few regions not affected by drought, 450,000 tonnes was received, with another 500,000 tonnes received in New South Wales, where harvesting was slowed by the rains, he said.

The harvest in Victoria started about two weeks earlier than last year, with total receivals into the company's sites in the three states still expected to be in a range of 2 million to 4 million tonnes, he said.

GrainCorp, the dominant grains storage and handling concern in eastern Australia, received 9.8 million tonnes of winter grains into its system last crop year ended March 31, 2006.