Worst drought in 116 years hits Australian wheat production

The worst drought in more than a century is affecting parts of Australia, causing severe grain shortage in what is usually an outstanding surplus producing country.

The condition resulted in a significant shipment of wheat from Canada, approved on May 9 and expected to arrive in the next 6 to 8 weeks, according to the Australian Department of Agriculture and Water Resources.

The import conditions require that the grain is sourced from areas assessed as presenting a low plant and animal biosecurity risk and impose strict movement, storage and processing controls within Australia.

This cargo will be processed at Manildra Group's Shoalhaven Starches plant in the state of New South Wales.

"Due to the worst drought in 116 years, high-protein wheat is in short supply which is critical to the Shoalhaven Starches wheat-processing plant," the company said. 

The analyst from Australian Crop Forecaster James Maxwell estimated that the total weight of the shipment would be around 50 000 and 60 000 tones.

"The reason this announcement has garnered so much attention is that it just doesn't happen," Maxwell said.

The last such shipment was back in 2007.

Featured image credit: tarosys