December 7, 2010

Australian grain harvests experience record rains

Record rainfall in Australia has seriously damaged the crop that farmers hoped would make up for a decade of drought, officials said on Monday (Dec 6).

Australian Farm Institute executive director, Mick Keogh, said up to a third of this year's grain harvest would be lost and the total value would come in at only AUD2 billion (US$1.97 billion).

"If we get more heavy rains this week, the damage will get even worse," he said.

Farmers said the quality of such grain that can be harvested is too poor for anything other than stock feed.

A poor wheat harvest in Australia, the fourth largest exporter, would add to worries of a global scarcity of grain going into 2011.