Australia: Drought which slashed barley production may be easing, GrainCorp says

Australia's worst drought on record, which slashed production of crops including barley in the past two years, may be easing, GrainCorp Ltd. said, according to Bloomberg, January 16.

``We certainly have a sense that the worst of the drought is behind us,'' Tom Keene, managing director of eastern Australia's biggest grain handler, said in a phone interview from the company's Sydney headquarters. There's ``a sense of optimism building up amongst grain growers that the drought may be behind us and we look forward to a good season.''

Recent rainfall in key summer crop regions and prospects for above-average rain are fueling optimism that as many as 10 years of drought in some areas may be easing. Growers in the world's fifth-biggest wheat exporter may boost plantings of the grain for the next harvest, Keene said.

``Seasonal conditions look like they've improved and that's going to augur well for the winter crop,'' he said. ``Secondly, grain prices remain strong and that means the farmers will be keen to plant large areas of winter crop.''

18 January, 2008