June 13, 2012

France sees lesser winter barley, rapeseed yield

The farmers in France will gather fewer winter barley and rapeseed this year following the damage in fields by freezing temperatures, reported the Agriculture Ministry of the country.

Winter-barley production is forecast to slide 9.9% to 5.69 million tonnes from 6.31 million tonnes, the ministry's statistics department wrote in a monthly report. The growing area fell to 901,000 hectares (2.23 million acres) from 1.06 million hectares, while yields will rise to 6.31 tonnes an acre from 5.98 tonnes an acre, the ministry predicted.

French crops benefited from rain in April and May, after frost in February damaged wheat, barley and rapeseed plants. France was the world's second-largest barley exporter last year behind Australia, falling from the top spot after spring drought curbed the 2011 harvest, International Trade Centre data show.

"The area seeded with winter cereals slumps following the freezing weather," the ministry wrote. "Re-seeding is leading to a record level for the area of spring barley. The area of grain corn widens."

Spring barley was planted on a record 885,000 hectares, jumping 81% from 489,000 hectares in 2011, the report showed. Farmers will seed 1.68 million hectares of corn, advancing from 1.59 million hectares last year.

Winter-rapeseed output is predicted to fall 9.7% to 4.84 million tonnes from 5.36 million tonnes, the Agriculture Ministry wrote in a report.