May 24, 2012

Italy's soft-wheat yield likely to hike 18%

The soft-wheat crop of Italy may increase 18% this 2012 on a "slight" improvement in harvest and a 17% widening in the planted acreage, stated the researcher Istituto di Servizi per il Mercato Agricolo e Alimentare (Ismea).

Output of durum wheat, the hard variety of the grain used to make pasta, may climb 9% as planting increases 14% the Rome-based group wrote in an online report dated May 18. That will more than make up for a 4% yield drop stemming from drought in the southern region of Apulia, the report showed.

Corn production is expected to be little changed, while the Italian barley harvest may rise 9.5% as the growing area expands by a similar magnitude, Ismea wrote.