Archive for July 6th, 2009
West Australian Grain Crop May Be 10-12 Million Tons
Western Australia, the nation’s biggest grain-growing region, may produce less grain from the current crop than a year earlier, in part as dry weather stymies yield potential.
Output of all grains may be 10 million metric tons to 12 million tons, the state’s Department of Agriculture and Food said today in a report on its Web site. Production from the previous harvest was 13.6 million tons, according to data from the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics.
“A late start and below-average rainfall through the April-June period has contributed to lower-than-normal crop potentials through much of the central and north-eastern wheat belt,” the department said. “Whilst most of the wheat belt has had good rain in late June to establish crops, some areas in the central wheat belt are still waiting for falls.”
Wheat is the state’s biggest crop. Grain growers in Australia, the world’s fourth-largest wheat exporter, harvest their current crops starting from about November.