Drought devastates Australian crops*

SYDNEY, Dec 5 (AFP) Dec 05, 2006

The worst drought in a century has slashed Australia's winter crop by an
estimated 62 percent and the summer crop is likely to be down 33
percent, the official rural forecaster said Tuesday.

The Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics (Abare)
estimated grains production for the recently completed southern winter
dropped to a 10-year low of 15.5 million tonnes.

"It was the driest August to October period since 1900 across many
cropping regions of Australia," Abare executive director Phillip Glyde said.

"When combined with some of the highest mean maximum temperatures on
record, this resulted in a significant decline in winter crop production
and has placed summer crops in an uncertain position."

Abare estimated winter wheat production was down 61 percent to 9.7
million tonnes, with barley dropping 63 percent to 3.7 million tonnes
and canola production slumping 71 percent to 426,000 tonnes.

It said below average rainfall and depleted water storage levels on
Australia's east coast meant the area sown for summer crops was down 25
percent, with water-thirsty crops rice and cotton worst affected.

"The lack of irrigation water for rice growing in 2006-07 means the area
planted to rice is estimated to be only 20,000 hectares, 81 percent
below the area planted last year," Abare said.

"The area sown to cotton is forecast to be the smallest in 20 years."