Australia worried over mouse infestation's impact on food supply

May 2 (Reuters) - Australia's ‌government said ​on ​Saturday it was worried about a plague of mice in the ‌west and would keep working with industry ⁠to curb its impact on food supply.

"Obviously we're ‌concerned about the mice ‌situation including in Western Australia," Energy Minister Chris Bowen said in televised remarks ​from Sydney.

According to local media, mice - a persistent problem in Australian grain-growing regions - ⁠have been infesting farms in the wheatbelt state of Western ​Australia. The situation prompted grain producers in April to warn of crop ​losses and call for access ‌to more powerful mice poison.

Bowen said the centre-left government was continuing ⁠to work hard with industry to reduce the plague's impact on local and overseas food ⁠supply.

"A mice plague is a very difficult situation ​for farmers and for industry and for governments," he added.

Australia, the world's fourth-largest wheat exporter, suffered its ‌worst mouse plague in 1993, when the rodents destroyed thousands of ‌hectares of crops and attacked livestock in ⁠pig and chicken ‌farms, according to ​the country's science agency.

(Reporting by Sam McKeith in Sydney; Editing by William ‌Mallard)

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