Two Australian Grain Regions May Receive Above-Average Rainfall

By Madelene Pearson

April 24 (Bloomberg) -- Grain-growing regions in two states of Australia, the world’s fourth-largest wheat exporter, may have above-average rain in the coming three months as the nation’s farmers sow their next crops.

There’s a 60 percent to 70 percent chance of higher-than- normal rainfall from May to July for northeast New South Wales and southern Queensland, the Bureau of Meteorology said today. For the rest of the country, the chance of heavier-than-usual falls is 40 percent to 60 percent.

The forecast pattern “is mainly a result of warm conditions in the Indian Ocean in January and March,” the forecaster said in its latest seasonal outlook published on its Web site.

Australian grain growers rely on rain during the coming three months to sow wheat, barley and canola. The crops are harvested from about November and exported to Indonesia, Japan and the Middle East.

New South Wales is usually the nation’s second-biggest wheat producer after Western Australia. Queensland is the smallest growing state on the nation’s mainland.

To contact the reporter on this story: Madelene Pearson in Melbourne on mpearson1@bloomberg.net