Australia: Barley production up 7% in 2019-20

Australian winter crop production is estimated to have decreased by 5% in 2019–20 to just under 29 million tonnes, ABARES said in its February report.

Wheat production is estimated to have fallen by 12% to 15.2 million tonnes, barley production is estimated to have increased by 7% to 8.9 million tonnes and canola production is estimated to have increased by 7% to 2.3 million tonnes.

Amongst other crops, chickpea production is estimated to have remained largely unchanged at 281,000 tonnes and oats production is estimated to have increased by 1% to 900,000 tonnes.

New South Wales’ barley production is estimated to have increased by 10% in 2019–20 to just below 700,000 tonnes. Although average yield is estimated to have increased, it is expected to be 41% below the 10-year average to 2018–19. Area planted to barley fell by 3% to 580,000 hectares.

In Queensland, barley production is estimated to be 60,000 tonnes, which is well below the 10-year average to 2018–19 of 214,000 tonnes. This resulted from below average winter rainfall in southern Queensland, where most barley is grown in the state.

Victoria’s barley production is estimated to have increased by 127% in 2019–20 to 2.5 million tonnes, which is 35% above the 10-year average to 2018–19. The estimated increase is largely the result of an estimated 113% increase in the average yield. This yield improvement was driven by favourable seasonal conditions in the Wimmera and the Western districts.

In South Australia, barley production is estimated to have increased by 21% to just under 1.9 million tonnes but is slightly below the 10-year average to 2018–19 of around 2.0 million tonnes. A partial shift towards barley production in some regions and yields mostly around average in southern cropping regions supported the higher production in 2019–20.

Barley production in Western Australia is estimated to have decreased by 25% in 2019–20 to 3.7 million tonnes, largely reflecting an estimated 34% decrease in the average yield from the high yield in 2018-19. Area planted to barley is estimated to have increased by 14% to around 1.7 million hectares, largely at the expense of area planted to wheat.

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