Australia canola cut by price, rain, not GM fears
Date: 06-Sep-00
Country: AUSTRALIA
No effects were showing from the debate about genetically modified (GM) foods yet, association president Bob Colton told Reuters.
The government commodities analyst, the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics (ABARE), earlier yesterday reduced its forecast of Australia's 2000/01 canola crop to 1.8 million tonnes from its June forecast of 2.04 million tonnes.
The latest forecast is down 25 percent from production of 2.4 million tonnes in 1999/00.
Colton told Reuters that the reduced forecast reflected lower prices this year which affected plantings, particularly in Western Australia and South Australia, and to a lesser extent in New South Wales (NSW) and Victoria.
"In addition to that it was very dry in Western Australia. They did not plant as much as they intended because they did not get good planting rains," he said.
Plantings in Western Australia had been reduced to about 600,000 hectares from 900,000, a main factor behind the national decline in the forecast crop, he said.
The Western Australian growing season also had not been good, producing reduced yields.
The crop in NSW was progressing extremely well and would produce above average yields. The crop in Victoria was also progressing well, while the South Australian crop was quite good, he said.
The debate about genetically modified (GM) foods and crops had not affected the amount of canola planted this year, with GM canola crops in Australia still in the experimental stage, he said.
"While it's generating a lot of discussion in the community, at all sorts of levels, it hasn't really had any impact on plantings at this stage," Colton said.
Australia was still seen to have a market advantage in canola because of its non-GM crop, he said.
Hopes were high that Australia might sell canola crop into Europe this year, he said.
"The GM issue is causing a lot of debate on what we should be doing in the future and when we should be doing it, but it's not really having any impact on farmers' current decisions," he said.