December 14, 2009

Australia's New South Wales winter grains harvest nearly done

A harvest of winter grains in Australia's New South Wales, which typically accounts for 30% of national wheat output, is all but finished in one of the earliest finishes on record in many districts, the state's Primary Industries Minister Steve Whan said Sunday (December 13).

"Low grain prices and market uncertainties have seen a large percentage of harvested grain either stored on farms or warehoused," he said in a statement.

Whan made the comments while issuing a monthly drought report for the state, which showed 81% now drought-declared, up from 74% a month ago. A further 15% of the state is considered marginally in drought.

The figures paint a bleak picture for farmers and it's likely to get worse with this summer expected to be the worst in years, with farmers already hauling water to keep livestock alive, Whan said.

Last week, the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics Tuesday downgraded its production forecast for the nation's 2009-10 wheat crop to 22 million tonnes from a September estimate of 22.7 million tonnes, but is still above actual output of 20.9 million tonnes last crop year ended March 31, 2009.

Abare's wheat production forecast for New South Wales was cut to 5.1 million tonnes from 6.3 million tonnes in September, both down from output last crop year of 6.9 million tonnes.