Mild spring temperatures lift Western Australia's wheat production, GIWA says

SYDNEY, Oct 16 (Reuters) - The Grain Industry Association of Western Australia (GIWA) on Friday increased its forecast for the state's wheat harvest by 864,500 metric tons to 10.9 million tons, saying mild spring temperatures had helped the crop.

Australia is one of the world's biggest suppliers of wheat, barley and canola, and Western Australia is the country's largest crop export region.

Extra Western Australian supply will put downward pressure on prices. Benchmark Chicago wheat futures last month rose to their highest since February 2023 as the Russia-Ukraine war disrupted exports from the Black Sea.

GIWA also raised its barley production forecast for Western Australia by 190,000 tons to 6.8 million tons in its monthly report and lowered its projection for the state's canola crop by 179,500 tons to 4.6 million tons.

Harvesting is getting underway in Australia and will continue to around year-end.

Following are GIWA's latest estimates in metric tons, with comparisons to last month's forecasts and to last year's production.