① The Western Australian Grain Industry Association issued a warning saying that when local farmers are about to start growing next season's grains, they are experiencing a continuous hot and dry summer, causing local crop production to face more uncertainties; ② Western Australia is Australia's largest producer of food, and Australia is a major exporter of wheat.
Financial Services Association, April 19 (Editor Xia Junxiong) On Friday (April 19) local time, the Western Australian Grain Industry Association issued a warning saying that as local farmers are about to start growing next season's grains, they are experiencing a continuous hot and dry summer, causing local crop production to face more uncertainties.
The association said in its monthly report that Western Australian growers are cautious about growing grains due to extremely dry soil. Local farmers are expected to still grow 8.6 million hectares of crops, including 4.96 million hectares of wheat. Western Australia planted just under 8.5 million hectares of crops last year.
Western Australia is Australia's largest producer of food, and Australia is a major exporter of wheat. The country's wheat exports reached 28 million tons from 2022 to 2023, the highest in history. This means that if Australian wheat production is damaged, it may push global wheat prices higher.
Due to large exports of wheat from Russia, the largest exporter, global wheat prices have fallen to close to their lowest level since 2020.
Consulting firm Sovecon estimates that Russia's wheat exports in April will reach 4.2 million to 4.64 million tons, more than 4.4 million tons in the same period last year. Russia exported about 3.9 million tons of wheat in March this year, the highest level in March on record.
Despite this, the International Grain Council on Thursday lowered its estimate of global wheat stocks for 2024-2025, which indicates that supply may be about to tighten.
The Western Australian Grain Industry Association said that since October last year, the weather in most growing areas in Western Australia has been much drier than normal, and soil humidity is still very low in most regions.
The association warned in its report: “There are no positive signs at this time, which makes growers uneasy.”
According to the report, the weather forecast shows that the region will continue to experience dry weather, which heightens people's concerns. However, the association also pointed out that at this time of year, long-term weather forecasts are not that reliable.