GENEVA- Canada could see the area planted with wheat increase by about 6% next year as high prices encourage farmers, which could bring total spring wheat output to around 22 million tonnes, an agriculture ministry official said on Wednesday.

Initial projections also showed the durum wheat area could rise by about 10% which would put the crop at 5.5 million tonnes, based on average yields, Tony McDougall, deputy director of the Canadian agriculture ministry's grains and oilseeds division, told the Global Grain conference in Geneva.

"So this would replenish stocks in Canada and get us back where we were," he said.

Record-hot summer temperatures in the North American country have slashed farm production in 2021, with the spring wheat crop shedding about 40% compared with last year and durum harvest falling about 50%. 

(Reporting by Sybille de La Hamaide, writing by Gus Trompiz; Editing by Bernadette Baum) ((gus.trompiz@thomsonreuters.com; +33 1 49 49 52 18; Reuters Messaging: gus.trompiz.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))