AUSTRALIA (9 June)
Prospects for the 2005 winter wheat and coarse grain crops are poor in eastern states because of persisting drought during what should have been the main planting period. Although, winter grain planting can still be carried out up until the end of June, and forecasts early in the month pointed to an increased likelihood that some significant planting showers might yet arrive, it is certain that the area sown in the eastern producing states will be considerably less than last year and yield prospects are not as good because of the limited soil moisture reserves for crop growth during the season. By contrast, prospects in Western Australia are generally very favourable, reflecting timely planting rains and satisfactory precipitation for developing crops. Based on the good prospects in the west of the country and the renewed hopes in early June that some rainfall may arrive in time for planting in the east, FAO forecasts the country’s wheat output at 18 million tonnes, above an official early-June forecast (based on May conditions and assuming drought to continue throughout the rest of 2005) but down by about 12 percent from the previous year’s crop. Output of barley, the main winter coarse grain is also expected to decline significantly.