According to the latest crop report from the Australian Bureau of Agricultural & Resource Economics and Sciences (ABARES) Australia experienced its second largest winter crop production on record. Australia harvested 27 million tons of wheat – 20% up from the year before and 9.5 million tons of barley – up 28% from the previous year. Western Australia produced a record 17.2 million tons of winter wheat, canola, and barley in 2013/14 – up 55% from the previous year. Southern Australia produced 8.6 million tons – an increase of 31% over the year before and the third highest output recorded for the state. Although the canola harvest was down 12% to 3.5 million tons, the output is still the second largest on record for the country as a whole. Given the current hot and dry conditions ABARES estimates weaker results for the coming summer crops. Total area planted for summer crops will be down by 15% to 1.15 million hectares and overall summer crop production is expected to be down by 25% to 4 million tons with smaller harvests predicted for all major crops.
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