Australia's wheat harvest hits 12-year lowest
Australia's 2019/2020 wheat harvest is the lowest in 12 years, missing its forecast, as a severe drought across the east coast wilted crops, Reuters reports.
Wheat production by the country was expected at 15.85 mln in the current season. However, with harvesting completed, the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences (ABARES) said production totalled 15.17 mln t — the lowest since 2008.
Although with the east coast recording little rain over the season, analysts warned that wheat output could even be lower than the government estimate, Reuters writes.
“The government’s number still too high, we think the production is around 14.5 mln t,” said Ole Houe, director of advisory services at brokerage IKON Commodities in Sydney.
Wheat export volume is projected within 7-7.5 mln t.
As a reminder, staple grains export from Ukraine has reached 38.36 mln t since the start of 2019/20 (July 2019 – June 2020). As of Feb. 17, agricultural commodities shipment increased by 7.54 mln t YoY.
