Drier conditions in Western Australia could spur some farmers to cut the area planted to grain for the next crop after they just completed a record harvest, said the Grain Industry Association of Western Australia.
(Bloomberg) — Drier conditions in Western Australia could spur some farmers to cut the area planted to grain for the next crop after they just completed a record harvest, said the Grain Industry Association of Western Australia.
The weather outlook is shifting rapidly back to a more “normal” scenario of less rainfall for the coming growing season, the association said in a release. “For many growers in the lower rainfall regions, there will be a pulling back in area cropped.” Subsoil moisture is still good in central and southern areas.
Australia is the world’s second-biggest wheat exporting country and traders will closely watch weather trends in the next few months to see if the country can repeat the bumper harvest just gathered. Australian exports have helped cap global wheat prices after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine slashed supplies.
Rain is more likely to be below normal in Western Australia from April to June, the state government said separately, citing climate models. An El Nino in the Pacific and a positive Indian Ocean Dipole event are likely to develop from June onward, it said. This may reduce rain over parts of Australia, but the “predictive skill for these events from late summer is historically low.”
Western Australia produced just over 26 million tons of grain in the 2022 season, 8% more than a year earlier, the association said. The tonnage grown in the state equates to about two years of average output 10 years ago. “That’s an incredible result and one that may not be repeated for a while.”
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