THE GERMAN harvest has again been delayed by rain, and concerns are rising over malting barley and wheat quality.

About 90% of the total winter barley has now been cut, although 50% remains to be cut in some regions. While winter barley quality is good, Strategie Grains reports yields about 10% lower than last year. Only 5-10% of the wheat has been cut so far.

In France, the harvest has also been interrupted by frequent rain. The winter barley harvest is now complete, and although about 60% of the total wheat crop has now been cut, Strategie Grains reports some regions still have more than 70% remaining. Onic sees wheat yields at 7.3t/ha, below last year’s record.

Hot and dry weather has enabled good progress in Hungary, with the barley harvest almost complete, and wheat about 60% complete. Wheat yields are about 4.6t/ha. The recent rainfall has damaged wheat quality, which will mean a higher proportion of feed wheat in Hungary than usual.

In Romania, the harvest has been interrupted by heavy and frequent rain, although about 50% of the crop has been cut. Barley and wheat yields are below last year’s record levels. The rain has also damaged wheat quality, with only 30% of the total wheat crop now expected to be of breadmaking quality.

In the Ukraine, 16.5m tonnes of grain have been harvested, of which 12.2m tonnes are wheat and 3.5m tonnes barley. However, yields are lower than last year, with wheat yields averaging 2.91t/ha (3.17 in 2004), and barley yields at 1.98t/ha (2.88 in 2004).