Heatwave takes its toll of EU yields
The EU Commission is reporting that the heatwave in July has resulted in sharply lower crop yields, with Germany, Poland, France, Italy and the UK the worst affected, writes Michael Mendelsohn.
The Commission now reports the 2006 crop at 9m tonnes, almost 4% below last year’s level.
In France, Strategie Grains reports that the harvest is still being disrupted by rainfall in the north, with 10% of the wheat crop remaining. Most regions report lower yields than last year.
Germany’s harvest has progressed, but has again been interrupted by rain.
The winter barley harvest is complete and 75% of spring barley and 70% of wheat cut.
Yields and quality are reportedly unchanged since last week.
Sweden will harvest 4.4m tonnes of grain this year, the smallest crop since 1992, and 13% lower than 2005.
Hungary’s harvest is almost complete, yields ranging from 3-5t/ha depending on region.
The crop is now estimated at 6.5m tonnes, of which 4.4m tonnes is wheat (5.1m tonnes last year).
Over 30% of the wheat has been cut in the Czech Republic, and the winter barley harvest is almost complete.
The Czech Statistical Bureau estimates a total crop below 6m tonnes (6.94m tonnes last year), with quality expected to be poor.
The Polish wheat harvest is 60% complete, but has been delayed by rainfall this week.
Yields are reportedly 15-50% below last year, depending on region.
Romania has harvested 5.2m tonnes of wheat from 95% of the planted area.
Large areas were hit by floods this season, resulting in a crop reduction of 2.4m tonnes on last year.
For the latest results see www.hgca.com
