Wheat Harvest in Australia Seen Missing Government Estimate

Wheat production in Australia, the world’s second-biggest shipper, may be less than a government forecast after dry weather curbed yield prospects just as drought from the U.S. to Russia threatens crops.

Output may be 23.25 million metric tons in 2012-2013, according to the median estimate of six analysts and traders in a Bloomberg survey. That’s 3.5 percent less than the 24.1 million tons predicted by the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences, and compares with a record 29.5 million tons a year earlier. The U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates the harvest at 26 million tons.