Record Australian Pulse Harvest

SYDNEY - Sep 12/16 - SNS -- Australia will harvest a record quantity of pulses this year, according to the latest crop forecast by the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences (ABARES).

If realized, production of all pulses will top 3.25 million metric tons (MT), up from 2.51 million last year and the recent five-year average of 2.43 million.

The biggest gains were recorded by chickpeas, with total output expected to total 1.234 million MT, up from 1.013 million last year. Fababean output is seen advancing from 319,100 to 492,000 MT, while field peas will jump from 204,500 to 317,000 MT ad lentils from 258,200 to 365,000.

ABARES noted that, "Seasonal conditions in most cropping regions during winter were very favorable, and crops are generally in very good condition at the beginning of spring. In the eastern states, including South Australia, winter rainfall was average to above average. In Western Australia, winter rainfall was more variable but timely and the season opening was generally very favorable.

"In some regions, particularly in parts of New South Wales and far southern Western Australia, crops were waterlogged by very high winter rainfall. This is expected to constrain yields in these regions.

"In its latest three-month rainfall outlook (September to November 2016), issued on 25 August 2016, the Bureau of Meteorology forecast spring rainfall to be around average in most cropping regions in Australia."