Heavy Rain Damages Up to 50% of Wheat Crops in Australia's Victoria State
Rains may have cut as much as half of the wheat crop to feed-quality in Victoria, Australia’s third-largest producing state, an agricultural department manager said today.
Wet weather likely downgraded 30 percent to 50 percent of the state’s wheat, while yields may be cut by 10 percent after storms last week flattened some crops, Chris Sounness, grains project manager at the Department of Primary Industries in Horsham, Victoria, said today by phone.
Wheat futures have gained 44 percent this year after drought decimated Russia’s harvest and on concern that high- quality grain will be in short supply because of rain in Australia, Canada and parts of Europe. As much as 60 percent of the crop in New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia may be reduced to feed-grade, Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd. estimated in a report Dec. 10.
“The big issue now will be the logistics of harvesting and not getting the machines bogged,” Sounness said. Farmers had resumed gathering crops and finer weather was forecast over the next week, he said.
Wheat for March delivery gained 0.3 percent to $7.78 a bushel at 5:35 p.m. Melbourne time.
Harvesting in the eastern states is four to five weeks late and will continue in some areas into February, David Ginns, spokesman at Sydney-based GrainCorp Ltd., said today.
GrainCorp Volumes
Grain receivals so far totaled 5.08 million metric tons, according to the company, the largest grains handler on the eastern seaboard. Total receivals for the year ending Sept. 30 may be 10 million to 13 million tons, including the summer sorghum harvest, it said Nov. 25.
“We are still getting some decent quality grain,” Ginns said. “A lot of the rain that we have had has been heavy in some areas, but not so heavy in others.”
Victoria’s wheat production may reach 4.6 million tons, the Department of Primary Industries forecast Nov. 10. The state will be the third-largest producer after New South Wales and South Australia this season, the Australian Bureau of Agricultural & Resource Economics and Sciences forecast Dec. 7.
Australian production may be 25.5 million tons, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said Dec. 10, raising its outlook by 1.5 million tons. Still, rains had damped production prospects in areas of eastern Australia and reduced quality, it said.
Erratic weather had affected the development of locusts, Victorian State Locust Director John Balfour said in a statement today. The insects were more likely to be a “nuisance” during harvesting than a major threat to cereal crops, Sounness said.
To contact the reporter on this story: Wendy Pugh in Melbourne wpugh@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: James Poole at Jpoole4@bloomberg.net
Rate this Page