Saudi wheat planted area falls 40 pct in two years

Saudi Arabia's wheat planted area fell 40 per cent in two years, faster than anticipated, and production of hard wheat dipped to 1 million tonnes in 2009, the Saudi agriculture minister said on Tuesday. "In two years, since we launched the wheat reduction plan, planted area fell 40 per cent, which is faster than we had anticipated," Agriculture Minister Fahad Balghunaim told Reuters in an interview. He also denied reports that Saudi Arabia planned to ban dairy exports, saying there was no such plan.