OCEANIA

AUSTRALIA (7 January)

Harvesting of the 1996 winter wheat and coarse grain crops is well underway and a bumper output is expected. Aggregate winter crop plantings increased and good rains and mild conditions through the late winter and early spring resulted in above average yields across most of the country. Aggregate wheat production is now officially forecast to reach 21.3 million tons, which would be 20 percent up from last year and the second largest crop on record. Latest reports indicate that the quality of the crop is exceptionally good and should be readily saleable in export markets. Where there are some quality problems, they relate to small grain size or, in southern areas, low protein content. An above-average winter coarse grain crop is also in prospect, and after a recovery in the summer maize and sorghum crop harvested early in 1996, aggregate 1996 coarse grain output is also expected to reach a bumper level over 10 million tons. For the summer coarse grain crops to be harvested later this year, despite favourable conditions for planting, the area of sorghum and maize is expected to be constrained by the large areas of land diverted to the 1996 winter crops.