Australia forecasts record wheat crop despite floods

Australia is expected to produce a bumper year of crops including record wheat production in the current financial year, the government said on Tuesday, despite the impact of widespread flooding in the the country’s eastern region.

Total winter crop production across the country is forecast to total 62 million tonnes, the second highest on record, according to a report from the federal Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics (ABARES).

“While the spring rain has impacted production, yields and quality in some parts of the country, some states are experiencing their best winter crops on record,” ABARES Director Jared Greenville said in a statement.

Wheat production, the country’s major grain crop, is forecast to reach 36.6 million tonnes in the 12 months running to June 30, 2023, a 1% increase over the previous record set last year, the report said.

Barley production is due to reach 13.4 million tonnes, the fourth-largest crop on record, with canola expected to hit a record 7.3 million tonnes.

Australia’s eastern region has suffered a wave of floods this year, inundating homes and farmland, because of a rare multi-year La Nina weather phenomenon, which brings more rain.

Summer crop planting is expected to fall 9% as a result of the flooding, the report said, particularly impacting cotton and rice crops.

Tags: barley, crops, Production, wheat, yields, flooding, winter crop, Australia