Australia set for lower wheat output on El Nino

FILE PHOTO: Grain silos are seen on the horizon near Moree, Australia, October 28, 2020. Picture taken October 28, 2020. REUTERS/Jonathan Barrett/File Photo

CANBERRA: Australia is likely to lower its wheat production forecast for 2023/24 by about a million tonnes as dry El Nino weather reduces yields, traders and analysts say, tightening global supplies hit by poor harvests in rival exporters.

The world’s second-largest exporter of the grain, Australia is a key supplier to top buyers such as China, Indonesia and Japan, but a strengthening of the El Nino weather event suggests more dry weather in store after the warmest winter on record.