Winter crop production to fall, says ABARES
Dry weather is expected to cause a 15% fall in Australia's 2012-13 national winter grain crop, according to the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences.
ABARES predicts a crop of about 38mt, down from last season’s bumper harvest of 45mt.
Wheat production is forecast to fall 18% to 24mt while barley is expected to drop 15% to around 7mt.
The area sown to wheat and barley is forecast to fall by 5% and 4% to about 13.4 and 3.9m hectares, respectively.
The total area planted to winter crops is expected to drop 2% in 2012–13 to around 22.2m hectares.
However, canola production is set to rise 4% to a record 2.9mt, as growers chase favourable prices. ABARES forecasts a 23% increase in area planted for canola in 2012-13, rising to an unprecedented 2.1m hectares.
Meanwhile, harvesting of the 2011-12 summer crops is nearing completion and total production is estimated to have increased by 19% to around 5.5mt.
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