CANBERRA, June 2 (Xinhua) -- Australia's annual wheat harvest is set to fall by 26 percent year-on-year as a result of rising fertilizer prices driven by the conflict in the Middle East, according to a government report.
The agricultural commodities report published by the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences (ABARES) on Tuesday said that national wheat production is forecast to fall to 26.7 million tonnes in 2026-27, down 26 percent from 2025-26 and 8 percent below the 10-year average.
A separate crop report also published by the ABARES on Tuesday said that the total area planted to wheat is forecast to fall by 12 percent to 10.9 million hectares in 2026-27, the smallest area since 2019-20.
Overall, it said that Australian winter crop production is forecast to fall by 21 percent year-on-year to 54.5 million tonnes.
The commodities report said that many growers are expected to leave plowed land unplanted due to increases in fuel and fertilizer prices as well as dry conditions and a below-average national winter rainfall outlook.
"The impact of Middle East conflict is significant for Australian agriculture because the sector is export-oriented and farming systems use imports of fuel, fertilizer, chemicals, and packaging as inputs," the report said.
According to the ABARES, Australian grain and oilseed export prices have risen by around 20 percent since the conflict in the Middle East began, but domestic prices for urea have risen by more than 80 percent in the same period.
As a result of the declining winter crop production, the bureau is forecasting that the total value of Australia's agricultural output will fall by 5 percent to 98.3 billion Australian dollars (70.5 billion U.S. dollars) in 2026-27.
Agricultural export value is expected to fall by 9 percent to 74.8 billion Australian dollars (53.6 billion U.S. dollars), the report said. ■