Recent flooding on Australia’s east coast has had a regional impact on ongoing wheat and canola crops in the states of New South Wales and Victoria. For the whole country, however, a record threshing of wheat and rapeseed can be expected in the 2022/23 season due to higher production in other states. At least that’s what the Australian Agriculture and Commodities Agency (ABARES) assumes in its current forecasts.
According to market experts, winter fruit production this year will amount to 62.0 million tonnes, just 1.5% less than the all-time high of 2021/22. The generally favorable weather conditions are particularly reflected in the main crop Grain remarkable. Here, the harvest volume in 2022/23 is expected to increase by another 1% to 36.6 million tonnes compared to the previous year’s record result. Higher volume is expected in all states; in NSW alone a 28% crop failure is expected due to excessive rainfall.
For barley ABARES expects production to fall 4% to 13.4 million tonnes compared to 2021/22; however, this would still be the fourth highest tier ever. In the case of oats, the limited production area is expected to lead to an 8% decrease in threshing to nearly 1.5 million tonnes.
The cultivation of Rap Farmers in Australia have grown by a full 10% since 2021/22 to a new record acreage of nearly 3.67 million hectares. According to forecasts from the agricultural authority, however, the harvest is expected to increase by only about 4% to 7.33 million tonnes due to moderate yields per hectare; it would be a new all-time record. According to ABARES, the grades of grains and oilseeds in the eastern federal states are inconsistent. This is due to a consistently wet spring, which is why many farmers have not had access to their fields to apply fertilizers or pesticides. This resulted in a greater loss of earnings.
The agricultural sector is booming
For Australia’s agricultural sector as a whole, ABARES also expects 2022/23 to be an above-average year, despite regional flooding. According to forecasts, the value of agricultural production is 85.3 billion Australian dollars (54.9 billion euros); it would be only 0.5% less than in the record 2021/22 season. The agricultural manufacturing sector is expected to contribute A$50.8 billion (€32.7 billion) to this result broadly unchanged. In the processing industry, the value of production is expected to decline moderately by 1.1% to A$34.5 billion (€22.2 billion). Although higher production is expected for cattle and sheep due to the increase in the number of animals, prices are expected to decrease by more than 10% compared to the maximum level of the previous marketing year.
For milk, the opposite is true: here a drop in production of about 4% to 8.2 million tons is expected; however, the producer milk price is expected to increase by 27% compared to the previous season. ABARES predicts a new record for Australian agricultural export earnings. In a year-on-year comparison, an 8.5% increase to A$73.3 billion (€46.5 billion) is thought possible. This is said to be mainly due to the increase in value in the export of plant products such as oilseeds, fibers and grains. (Age)
