W.Canada to grow more wheat, barley-Wheat Board

 WINNIPEG, Manitoba, Aug 26 (Reuters) - The Canadian Wheat
Board raised its 2011/12 outlook for wheat and barley on
Friday, as a warm, dry summer looks to produce bigger harvests
than a year ago.

 Spring floods left an estimated 6 million acres unplanted
across the Prairies, but a hot summer with timely rains has
helped crops in Alberta and most of Saskatchewan.

 "We started with a (spring) deluge across the southern
Prairies while northern areas were dry. Over the course of the
summer, the situation improved," said Wheat Board CEO Ian White
at the CWB's annual summer press conference in Winnipeg.

 All-wheat production in Western Canada will rise to 21.3
million tonnes from 21.0 million tonnes a year ago, the board
said, adding to one of the biggest global wheat crops on
record.

 The CWB's estimate is 1 million tonnes, or 4.9 percent
higher than its mid-June estimate, but 300,000 tonnes smaller
than Statistics Canada's forecast on Wednesday.

 The Wheat Board's estimates are based on analysis and input
from its field staff up until last week, but Statscan's
forecast is based on a farmer survey.

 Durum production rises to 3.9 million tonnes in Western
Canada from 3.0 million tonnes last year, while the barley
harvest looks to reach 8.0 million tonnes versus 7.0 million
tonnes in 2010.

 Both of those estimates are higher than the CWB's June
forecast and Statscan's most recent report.

 The board's higher estimates sound reasonable to private
grain analyst Ron Frost, who offers consulting to farmers,
based in Calgary, Alberta.

 "The guys getting some of the early harvest done are
impressed," Frost said. "It certainly has been the common
comment that cereals are doing the best."

 Minneapolis spring wheat came under pressure this week from
Statistics Canada's Wednesday forecast for a bigger Canadian
all-wheat crop than expected, but MGEX wheat futures climbed
sharply Friday, following corn and on concerns about a
disappointing U.S. spring wheat harvest. [GRA/]
[ID:nN1E77M0EA]

 Canada is the world's top exporter of spring wheat, durum
and malting barley.

 The International Grains Council on Thursday raised its
forecast for 2011/12 global wheat production by 3 million
tonnes to 677 million. [ID:nL5E7JP26L]

 "There is no real shortage of wheat this year," White
said.

 The late harvest in Western Canada, the country's crop
belt, still faces a significant risk, however, from autumn
frost that could strike when plants are still immature.

 Wheat quality is currently superior to last year's frost-
and rain-damaged crop, but farmers need widespread freezing
temperatures to hold off past Sept. 5, said Bruce Burnett, the
CWB's director of weather and market analysis.

 The Wheat Board looks to export 18.0 million tonnes of
grain in 2011/12. That would be up from 15.8 million tonnes
last year, which was the lowest in six years due to smaller
crops, but it still generated C$5.8 billion ($5.9 billion) in
revenues.

 The board singled out Canadian Pacific Railway (CP.TO) for
failing to deliver grain cars as needed in the past crop
marketing year, but said it was expecting better service this
year.

 The board's monopoly on buying and selling Western Canadian
wheat to export for human consumption will end in August 2012,
the Canadian government has said.

 That change to a single-desk marketing system that has been
in place since World War Two may affect export sales to the
CWB's customers, but demand should still be strong, CEO White
said.

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