AUSTRALIA WINTER CROP OUTPUT FORECAST TO FALL BY 34%
After three consecutive years of record production, total Australian winter crop production is forecast to fall by 34% to 45.2 million tonnes in 2023–24, according to the latest forecast from the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences (ABARES). The anticipated development of El Niño weather influences Australian rainfall and temperatures presenting a key downside risk to the outlook.
ABARES sees wheat production falling by 36% to 25.4 million tonnes. This downward revision is 4% below the 10-year average and well below last year’s record of 39 million tonnes. Barley production was revised slightly upward from the June forecast but is expected to fall by 26% year-on-year to 10.5 million tonnes, 6% below the 10-year average. Canola production was also revised higher but is projected to fall by 38% compared to the previous marketing year to 5.2 million tonnes.
ABARES noted that conditions have been mostly favorable across southern cropping regions where better-than-expected early winter rainfall boosted soil moisture levels and benefited crop establishment and growth. In contrast, planting and establishment conditions were largely unfavorably dry in Queensland, northern New South Wales, and northern and eastern cropping regions of Western Australia. This has led to some winter crops experiencing moisture stress, with yields forecast to be below average.
(Link: WordGrain.com)
VIETNAM, PHILIPPINES TO SIGN RICE PACT AS GLOBAL PRICES SOAR
The governments of Vietnam and the Philippines will soon sign a pact on rice trade to ensure food security, Vietnamese authorities said on Thursday. The deal comes amid soaring rice prices in the Philippines. News of the deal came in a statement released after Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. met on the sidelines of an ASEAN summit in Indonesia, but there were no further details.
Marcos welcomed the neighboring nation’s offer of a five-year supply deal. This week the Philippines began enforcing price ceilings for rice, to protect consumers against widespread price manipulation by traders in league with industry cartels.
(Link: Reuters)
BRAZIL SETS RECORD FOR SOYBEAN, CORN OUTPUT
Brazil’s 2022-23 grain harvest set a production record at 322.8 million tonnes, an increase of 18% and 50 million tonnes over the previous year, according to a report from the National Supply Company (CONAB) released on Sept. 6. The overall total was spurred by a 23% increase year-on-year in soybean production, which is estimated at a record 154.6 million tonnes. A record corn crop also is estimated at 131.9 million tonnes, an increase of 18.7 million tonnes from 2021-22. The harvest is about 89% completed, CONAB said. In Brazil, there are three separate corn harvests per year. This year the first totaled 27.4 million tonnes, the second 102.2 million, and the third is projected at 2.33 million.
With plenty of surplus from these bumper crops, Brazil will rank as the world’s top corn and soybean exporter in 2022-23, with 50 million tonnes of corn and 96.5 million tonnes of soybeans being shipped, CONAB said.
(Link: Worldrgrain.com)
