SYDNEY - Drought is increasing across the key Australian cropping state of New South Wales as farmers wait for winter rains, a senior government minister said on Monday.
Some 62 percent of the state was now drought declared, up from 18 percent in December 2005, with drought spreading from inland areas towards the coast, Ian Macdonald, the state's Primary Industries Minister, said in a statement.
"There has been very little rain over the past couple of months. In fact, the average state-wide rainfall for April was less than half the historical average," Macdonald said.
Australia was affected by severe drought in 2002/03, which left 91 percent of New South Wales officially in drought by last June.
The state, one of the hardest hit by the recent drought, generally produces between a quarter and a third of Australia's winter crops, mainly wheat.
Macdonald said many farmers had again dry sown their crops, hoping for late rains as in 2005. Last year the autumn rain break did not arrive until the middle of June, the last possible time for the major winter grains crops of wheat and barley.
The rains came too late last year for much of the winter canola oilseeds crop, which is planted before the major grains. and canola traders said the optimum eastern-state planting season for canola was again drawing to a close.
However, good plantings were proceeding in Western Australia and South Australia states, which had received rain, they said.
REUTERS NEWS SERVICE
