AUST today: RAIN DAMPENS CROP FORECASTS Australia is on track to...

AUST today:
RAIN DAMPENS CROP FORECASTS
Australia is on track to harvest a near-record winter grain crop despite the impact of excessive rainfall in NSW and Victoria.
Rabobank analysis found that despite the weather challenges the winter crop is expected to total 61.9 million tonnes.
In the newly released report, the specialist agribusiness bank said the nation was set to harvest its third consecutive bumper winter crop, which would be down only 1 per cent on last year – which broke all-time production records. The total grain crop is estimated to be 41 per cent above the five-year average.
RaboResearch agricultural analyst Dennis Voznesenski said while farmers in some parts of Australia would “reap record or near-record crops”, others in areas across NSW and Victoria were facing “yield, volume and quality downgrades due to excessive rain, washed out fields and unharvestable crops”.
Western Australia and South Australia were set to break crop production records.
Rabobank forecasts WA to harvest a record total crop of 23.47 million tonnes, up 2 per cent on last year’s record. South Australia is also preparing for another record harvest this season, of almost 10.7 million tonnes.
Mr Voznesenski said NSW was the hardest hit by excess rain with the state’s grain and oilseed production expected to be 28 per cent below last year, at 13.6 million tonnes.
Until the recent floods, Victoria’s total winter crop was expected to total a record 11.5 million tonnes.