Australia: The Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics (ABARE) announced on September 7 that it expects Australian barley production to be 7.3 million tonnes in 2004-05, down by around 1.3 million tonnes from 2003-04.

In New South Wales the area planted to barley is estimated to have increased by 5 % to 640,000 hectares in 2004-05. Barley production in the state is forecast to increase by 13 % to 1.29 million tonnes in 2004-05. Again, favorable conditions in the north are expected to contribute significantly to the harvest. In the state of Victoria barley production is forecast to fall by 11 % to around 1.6 million tonnes in 2004-05.

The majority of Queensland’s barley crop was planted in the western Downs/Maranoa region. Average barley yields are forecast under the assumption that followup rainfall will eventuate in coming months. Barley production is forecast to fall by 28 per cent to 155 000 tonnes in 2004-05.

The area planted to barley in Western Australia is estimated to have declined by 19 % to 1 million hectares in 2004-05. As a result, barley production is forecast to decline by 0.9 million tonnes to around 2.1 million tonnes in 2004-05. In South Australia barley production is forecast to be 2.2 million tonnes in 2004-05, a decline of 13 % from the previous season.

10 September, 2004