Australia's Rice Crop Beats Forecast But Still Low

May 21,2007 00:00 by dailynews

Australia's drought-affected rice crop has exceeded earlier dismal expectations, but with production at just 166,000 metric tons - the smallest for 50 years - it remains well down from the 1.05 million MT produced a year ago, New South Wales' Department of Primary Industry reported Monday.

"Lack of rain, above average evaporation and temperatures, and the small crop resulted in an early finish to the harvest by the end of April," the department said in a grains report. The outlook for the next crop is bleak, it warned, with substantial rain and inflows into dams for irrigation needed in winter and spring to allow water
allocations.

A sizable proportion of Australian rice production is usually exported, averaging 473,000 MT a year in the eight years ended fiscal 2005-06.