The national commodity forecaster expects improved yields for summer crops after good rains in north-eastern Australia.
But the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics is warning it won't be enough to avoid a big drop in overall production, with some crop plantings at 20-year lows.
ABARE's Bruce Bowen says the rain came too late for most growers.
"The rain that was in January and February, particularly in Queensland and northern NSW, has been really good for crop yields, particularly grain sorghum, which is the main summer crop that's planted in Australia," he says.
"The rain was a bit too late for increased plantings in northern NSW and southern Queensland, but there's still a chance for some more plantings in central Queensland in the next week or so."
Overall production of grain sorghum is expected to be about 1.3 million tonnes, or about half of last season's production.
However, extra irrigation water from rains means rice plantings are estimated to rise to 19,000 hectares, up from 8000 hectares planted during the 2008-09 season.
ABARE says cotton production will rise 23 per cent, but notes that getting enough irrigation water remains an issue for the industry.
"Following completion of the winter crop harvest, winter crop production in 2009-10 is estimated to have increased to 35.2 million tonnes, a 4 per cent increase over the 2008-09 crop," says ABARE's deputy executive director Paul Morris.
"Wheat production is estimated to have increased by 3 per cent to 21.7 million tonnes, barley by 5 per cent to 8 million tonnes, and canola by 3 per cent to 1.9 million tonnes in 2009-10."
Source: farmonline.com.au
Back to News Headlines