AUSTRALIAN WINTER CROPS LAG FROM PREVIOUS YEAR
After three consecutive bumper crops, Australian wheat production in the 2023-24 marketing year is forecast to fall by 37% from the previous year’s record harvest to 25.5 million tonnes, 4% below the 10-year average, according to ABARES. Total Australian winter crop production is forecast to fall 33% compared to last year’s record output to 46.1 million tonnes, which is slightly below the 10-year average, ABARES said. Barley production also was revised slightly higher from the previous forecast but is still projected to decline by 24% year-on-year to 10.8 million tonnes. Australia’s other major winter crop, canola, is projected to see a production decline of 33% compared with 2022-23. However, the expected output of 5.5 million tonnes is still above the 10-year average on account of the planted area estimated to be the second highest on record.
(Link: WorldGrain)
CANADIAN WHEAT, CANOLA CROPS REBOUND
In its Dec. 4 annual report based on a farmer survey, the government agency estimated all-wheat production at 32 million tonnes, the second-lowest in the past six years, but an increase from its September estimate of 29.8 million tonnes. Farmers harvested 24.8 million tonnes of spring wheat, up from the previous estimate of 22.6 million tonnes. Durum wheat production of 4 million tonnes was the second-smallest harvest in 13 years and a slight reduction from the previous estimate.
The harvested area for all wheat was 26.39 million acres, up from 24.9 million acres in 2022, with spring wheat area up 7% and durum wheat relatively unchanged. The canola harvest weighed in at 18.3 million tonnes, up from 17.4 million tonnes in the previous report but down 2% from last year and third lowest since 2015. Canola acres increased to 21.88 million acres in 2023, up from 21.24 million acres the previous year. Canada is the world’s fourth-largest wheat exporter and the biggest canola exporter.
(Link: WorldGrain)
