December 4, 2007

 

Australia's Abare lifts 2007-08 wheat crop to 12.7 million tonnes
 

 

An official production forecast for the 2007-08 Australian wheat crop Tuesday was lifted to 12.7 million tonnes from an estimate of 12.1 million tonnes late October.

 

The figure is also up from a drought-affected crop of 9.8 million tonnes last crop year ended March 31.

 

New crop barley production is estimated at 5.5 million tonnes, again, up from an October estimate of 5.0 million tonnes and up from actual output of 3.7 million tonnes last crop year.

 

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

 

Rapeseed output is estimated to reach 931,000 tonnes, up from an October estimate of 909,000 tonnes and up from an actual 513,000 tonnes produced from the previous crop.

 

Phillip Glyde, Abare's executive director, said that despite the poor winter cropping season in most regions, yields have proved to be better than pre-harvest expectations, particularly in South Australia and Victoria.

 

"Exceptionally dry conditions in most major cropping areas of northern Western Australia, South Australia, New South Wales and Victoria mean that winter crop production is estimated to be significantly lower than mid-2007 expectations," he said.

 

Forecast for winter crop production are well below long-term averages, he said.

 

Abare forecast production from the sorghum crop planted this crop year and harvested in calendar 2008 will reach 2.0 million tonnes, up from a September projection of 1.9 million tonnes and more than double actual output from the previous crop of 952,000 tonnes.

 

Average to above-average rainfall in October and November in southern Queensland and northern New South Wales has prompted a large area of sorghum to be planted, he said.