EU harvest forecasts continue to deteriorate

The estimates of the grain crops harvest in the European Union this year continue to decrease due to the weather conditions, which affected the condition of crops in France and Germany.

This is stated by the analysts of Stratégie Grains, according to the Agricultural and Horticultural Development Board (AHDB).

Thus, the production of soft wheat in the EU-27 is now expected to reach only 116.50 mln tonnes, down 5.8 mln tonnes from the previous forecast, and will be the smallest harvest since 2018 (114.8 mln tonnes).

Experts also predict problems with the quality of the harvested grain.

It is noted that the French government recently lowered its estimate of the soft wheat harvest in the country by 3.3 mln tonnes to 26.3 mln tonnes. This is 25% less than last year and is the smallest harvest since 1987.

At the same time, the rains also delayed the harvest in Germany. The German Statistical Office published its first estimate of the 2024 wheat harvest at 19.7 mln tonnes, down from 21.5 mln tonnes last year and the lowest since 2003.

Stratégie Grains’ latest estimate for the EU-27 barley crop is 50.6 mln tons, which is still higher than the minimum harvest of 2023. But it is now below the five-year average.

Corn production in the EU is also expected to reach about 60 mln tons, which is also lower than last year’s harvest.

Tags: grain, barley, EU, France, wheat, Germany, corn