Rains threaten Poland's 2010 grain production

Poland's grain production this year is expected to reach 26.1 million tonnes, a drop of 3.7 million tonnes from 2009 due to a late and very rainy spring, according to an analyst from a government institute.

This compares to the previous forecast of 27.1 million tonnes, with an average yield seen at 3.24 tonnes per hectare.

"It is constantly raining, fungal diseases are spreading, and it is difficult to drive into fields to treat crops because the soil is soaked," Wieslaw Lopaciuk, an analyst at the Institute of Agricultural and Food Economics said.

"Grain quality might be lower due to this," he added.

At least 20 people were killed and tens of thousands were forced to evacuate their homes after heavy spring rains triggered floods in southern and central Poland causing billions of zlotys worth of damage.

The wheat crop for 2010 is estimated at 8.57 million tonnes, with an average yield of 3.77 tonnes per hectare, Lopaciuk's forecasts showed. The total area sown to grains remains unchanged from the previous forecast at 8.37 million hectares, while average yield is estimated to drop to 3.12 tonne per hectare.

In 2009, Poland reaped a total crop of 29.8 million tonnes, the highest since 2004. An average yield came in at 3.48 tonnes per hectare, while the area sown was 8.6 million hectares.