French wheat conditions stabilise but harvest fears persist
France’s soft wheat faces challenges after a damp season, with only 62% rated good/excellent, down from 85% last year, reports FranceAgriMer. Persistent rain threatens a double-digit production decline, impacting sowing which is already down 7%. Winter barley fares slightly better at 65% good/excellent but anticipates an 11% drop in yield. Maize planting progresses well, with 97% planted and 80% in good/excellent condition, according to the agriculture ministry’s latest forecast.
June 14 (Reuters) -Crop conditions for soft wheat in France were steady last week, data from farm office FranceAgriMer showed on Friday, but harvest prospects in the European Union’s biggest producer remained poor after a damp growing season.
Some 62% of soft wheat was estimated to be in good or excellent condition by June 10, unchanged from a week earlier but down from 85% a year earlier, FranceAgriMer said in a cereal report.
The score remained the lowest for the time of year since 2020, when French wheat crops were also affected by heavy rain, the report showed.
France had warm, sunny weather last week but rain has returned this week and observers say the cumulative effects of months of wet weather will likely lead to a double-digit percentage drop in soft wheat production this year.
The agriculture ministry estimates that rain already cut soft wheat sowing by more than 7%.
FranceAgriMer does not comment on crop conditions in its weekly reports but Benoit Pietrement, a farmer who heads its grain committee, told reporters this week that weeds were a major issue because growers have struggled to work in waterlogged fields.
The increase presence of weeds and crop disease this year has added to harvest worries, though yields were not expected to be as bad as in 2016 when France harvested its worst wheat crop in three decades following an wet, overcast spring, Francois Laurent of crop institute Arvalis said.
“It’s going to be a disappointing year but not a disastrous one,” he said, adding it was hard to predict yields after planting drawn out by rain made crops conditions very varied.
For winter barley, the first major cereal to be harvested in summer, the good/excellent rating gained two points last week to 65%, but remained well below a year-earlier score of 85%.
In its first production forecast for this year’s harvest, France’s farm ministry projected the winter barley crop would be nearly 11% below last year’s volume.
For maize, 97% of the expected area had been planted, progressing from 90% a week earlier, FranceAgriMer said.
The state of emerged maize crops was stable, with 80% rated good/excellent.
Source Link : https://www.xm.com/research/markets/allNews/reuters/french-wheat-crop-conditions-steady-maize-sowing-nears-end-53860727
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