SYDNEY, (Reuters) — Australian farmers produced a record amount of wheat during the 2016-17 season, the country’s chief commodity forecaster said last week, as ideal weather pushed the world’s fourth largest exporter to production levels of more than 35 million tonnes.
Australian wheat output was finalized at 35.13 million tonnes, the Australian Bureau of Agriculture, Resource Economics and Rural Sciences said in its final production report for the season.
The silo-busting supplies from Australia added to bumper global stocks, which pushed benchmark global prices to a 10-year low in August 2016.
The record global supply has seen the world’s No. 4 exporter losing market share into traditional markets such as Indonesia, and may see Australia carrying larger supplies into next year.
This year marks Australia’s largest ever wheat crop, surpassing the previous record of 29.9 million tonnes in the 2011-12 season.
Australian wheat farmers finished harvesting their crops in December 2016.
Heavy rains in September across much of the country’s largest producing regions saw Australian wheat production rising by nearly 11 million tonnes from that recorded during the 2015-16 season.
