by PressAnalysts predict high wheat and rapeseed yields in Australia
Farmers expect good crops in Australia
According to analysts, the 2022/2023 season in Australia is expected to be a rich wheat crop. Good predictions are also good for rapeseed, here also expect large volumes.
Experts note that Australia has excellent conditions for sowing winter crops. Weather conditions are favorable for high and good quality crops, especially analysts predict large production volumes of wheat and barley. The harvest of the former is estimated at about 31 million metric tons, and the record volume for the country is 36.3 million tons. Barley production is expected to be 11 million tons. The record season for this crop was 2021/2022 when it managed to harvest 13.7 million tons.
According to AOF estimates, the harvest of canola, a local variety of rapeseed, will be the largest in 5 years and will amount to 3.7 million tons. In the new season, local farmers have significantly expanded the area planted for the crop, with a total of about 3.4 million hectares planted, 455 thousand more than the figure in the 2020/2021 marketing year, when a record production of 6.3 million tons was achieved. Despite this, projections are lower for now, as a number of regions in Australia have experienced heavy rainfall over the past 4 months, which could negatively impact canola yields. However, the main enemy of the oilseed crop is slugs, they are on a par with mice to damage crops. In addition, a serious disease for canola is considered sclerotinia, also the diamondback moth harms crops.
Despite good prospects, oilseed values are dropping. The peak is in May when the price per ton was trading at 1,300 dollars. Now the price is $1,160 per ton. Increased palm oil exports from Indonesia, as well as a rich canola crop in Canada, are contributing to the drop in value.
The Australian Bureau of Economics estimates that the revenue of local agricultural producers could reach about $48 million this season. This figure will be a record for the country.
The increase in Australian exports is due to the impact of the climate phenomenon La Niña, which affected agricultural production in South America. Australia is also experiencing an increase in precipitation. In addition, as a result of geopolitical conflict, several major grain suppliers have practically withdrawn from the world stage. Against this background, a number of producers have increased their supplies (among them Australia) to avoid the likelihood of a food crisis. Some countries are already experiencing problems with the supply of crops, especially wheat.