(This article was originally published Thursday)


  WINNIPEG (Dow Jones)--World wheat production is expected to rebound to record
high levels during 2008 in view of improved weather conditions in some major
wheat-producing regions of the globe, according to projections made by the
Canadian Wheat Board on Thursday.

  Using U.S. Department of Agriculture forecasts, Gordon Finlay, weather and
crop surveillance analyst with the CWB, estimated world wheat production at 663
million metric tons.

  In the U.S., wheat production is forecast to climb to 66.2 million tons, a
10-million-ton increase from the output in 2007-08. For soft red winter wheat,
wet conditions in the eastern corn belt could damage the quality of the crop.
For the hard red winter wheat crop, above-average yields and lower-than-normal
protein levels are anticipated.

  As far as spring wheat and durum are concerned, poor subsoil moisture
conditions in the western Dakotas are threatening potential yield levels, as is
the case in Canada, Finlay said.

  In North Africa, above-normal temperatures and low precipitation levels
during the growing season have hurt durum prospects.

  In the Middle East, crops have been placed under extreme stress as a result
of dry, hot weather from January through June, and production levels from
countries in that regions should be significantly reduced, he said.

  Production prospects in the countries of the Black Sea region are very good
due to generally favorable weather conditions. Output is expected to rise by
more than 11 million tons from 2007-08 levels, Finlay said.

  Farmers in eastern Australia are still planting their winter wheat crop,
because dry soils have delayed the onset of seeding. Recent rainfall in parts
of the eastern grain belt of Australia has been welcome.

  Despite the strong jump in world wheat production, global prices for wheat
are expected to remain at strong levels given demand from increasing
consumption and the record-low stocks due to problems in the key producing
nations in the previous year, according to Bruce Burnett, director of weather
and market analysis for the CWB.