Excessive rains hit Australia grain exports

BRISBANE (Commodity Online) : Australia suffered some of its worst floods these days as key rail lines in several states will hamper exports, grains handler GrainCorp said on Monday.
Rains across eastern Australia has further slowed an already much delayed grain harvest while flood damage to key rail lines in several states will hamper exports, grains GrainCorp added.
Australia suffered some of its worst floods on record over the past two months, with waters engulfing parts of Brisbane, shutting much of Queensland's vital coal mining sector and damaging crops.
Repairs to rail lines in the Darling Downs region of Queensland, usually a producer of top quality wheat, could take up to three months to complete, forcing GrainCorp to transport produce to ports on roads only, the company said.
Australia, usually the world's fourth biggest wheat exporter, has been suffering extensive rain damage to an otherwise big crop, lifting prices for grains to near levels reached during grain shortages in 2007/08.
Australian milling wheat for March delivery is the most expensive in the world, priced a $327 per tonne.
Australia is forecast to reap a 26.8 million tonne wheat harvest in 2010/11, up from a record 26.1 million tonnes in 2003/04 but analysts said the quality will be mixed due to heavy late spring, early summer rains.
GrainCorp added that recent heavy rains and floods in Victoria state will also impact rail transport but it could not yet estimate the extent.
It also warned that the quality of the unharvested crop is also likely to suffer further because of recent raise.
GrainCorp received 12.6 million tonnes of grains so far this season, up from 12.3 million tonnes in the season to last week.
In early Dec, the government predicted New South Wales would produce 11.5 million tonne of wheat in 2010/11, up 12 per cent on 2009/10 while Victoria would harvest 4.42 million tonnes, up 49 per cent on the previous season.
GrainCorp's receivals in Queensland, a smaller grain producing state, were was estimated at 1.44 million tonnes in the season for far, up five per cent on a year earlier.

(Source: http://www.commodityonline.com/crops-weather/Excessive-rains-hit-Australia-grain-exports-2011-01-17-35698-3-1.html)