Australian Pulse Harvest Slips 2.8%

SYDNEY - Feb 11/14 - SNS -- Production of Australia's five main pulse crops is down 2.8% from last year at 2.177 million metric tons (MT), but almost 9% above the recent five-year average, according to the latest crop production estimates from the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences (ABARES).

The biggest overall decline was registered by chickpeas, with total output falling 23% to 629,000 MT; while lupins registered the biggest increase, jumping 36% to 625,000 MT. Among the other key pulses, fababean output was down 13% at 328,000 MT; while pea production rose 7% to 342,000 and lentils dropped 7% to 253,000 MT.

Unfavorable conditions are expected to significantly affect summer crop production in Australia. This could also have an impact on next winter crops, with this year's pulses being planted into dry soils, making them more reliant than usual on timely rains during the coming winter growing season.

"The Bureau of Meteorology's latest seasonal rainfall outlook (February to April 2014) indicates a slightly increased chance of drier than normal conditions across cropping areas in central and southern New South Wales and Victoria where chances of exceeding the median rainfall are between 35% and 55%," ABARES said. "Chances of a wetter or drier than normal season are roughly equal over the cropping zones of northern New South Wales, Queensland and South Australia. In Western Australia, the chances of wetter than normal conditions across the cropping regions are between 55% and 65%."

The outlook for temperatures from February to April 2014 indicates a slightly higher chance of warmer than average daytime temperatures over most of New South Wales with no indication either way over the rest of the cropping zone. Warmer night-time temperatures are more likely in all cropping regions.

Relative upper layer soil moisture at the end of January 2014 for the wheat-sheep zone is predominantly extremely low to below average. Relative upper layer soil moisture across summer cropping regions in Queensland and northern New South Wales was predominately well below average to extremely low. This pattern of relative upper layer soil moisture reflects rainfall received to date during the 2013-14 summer.

Relative soil moisture in the lower layer at the end of January 2014 was largely average to well below average in Queensland and northern New South Wales cropping regions. Southern New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia show variable relative soil moisture, although levels tend to the average. While deficiencies remain in lower layer soil moisture in Western Australia, recent rainfall should result in improvements in coming months.