The Australian Bureau of Agriculture & Resource Economics and Sciences (ABARES) raised its forecast for this year’s Australian wheat harvest to 26.213 million tons from its September forecast of 24.467 million tons because of favorable weather on the west coast. For Western Australia ABARES increased its estimate for wheat production by 31% to 9.605 million tons. This bumper crop in Western Australia has offset production losses across the east coast. Output in New South Wales and Queensland is expected to fall by 12% to 7.85 million tons from a previous estimate of 8.913 million tons. The overall increased production resulting in Australia’s third largest wheat crop on record could put downward pressure on wheat prices on the Chicago Board of Trade.
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