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FAO forecasts record wheat crops in China and Pakistan
FAO is forecasting record wheat harvests in China and Pakistan in 2013 as part of global wheat production that should be the second largest on record, according to the organization’s most recent Crop Prospects and Food Situation report. FAO predicts global wheat output will be 690 million tonnes, a 28 million tonne increase over 2012. Weather conditions in China have been favourable so far this year, supporting expectations of a good harvest, while increased plantings and yields in Pakistan should produce a similar result. A slight decline is expected in India because of scant post-monsoon rainfall.
Secondary rice harvests in the region are promising in Bangladesh, Cambodia, Indonesia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Thailand and Viet Nam. But planting delays and the effects of a cyclone are expected to reduce paddy output in India, while floods will cause declines in Sri Lanka. With most final figures in for 2012, FAO believes the paddy output for the region was a record at 1.214 billion tonnes, an increase of 3 percent over last year’s record. Larger crops in China and Indonesia were the main drivers of the increase. Regional cereals exports for the 2012-13 marketing year are expected to rise by 16 percent, or 5.9 million tonnes, to 43 million tonnes.