June 26, 2012

EU 2012 wheat crop forecast down on dry weather

EU's 2012 wheat yield forecast has been slashed by agricultural monitoring agency MARS, Monday (June 25), citing dry conditions on the Iberian Peninsula.

Total European wheat yields are now projected to be 5.32 million tonnes/hectare in 2012, down from a previous estimate of 5.34 million tonnes/hectare, MARS said in a bulletin. The revised yield would be 0.5% lower than last year's harvest, but 0.3% above the five-year average, MARS said.

The European wheat harvest typically runs from July-August.

The lack of rainfall on the Iberian Peninsula from the second half of May through to mid-June is likely to have a negative effect on winter and spring crop yields, the agency said.

Total wheat yields in Spain are projected to fall over 27% to 2.52 million tonnes/hectare, while yields in Portugal are expected to drop over 37% to 0.86 million tonnes/hectare, MARS said.

The agency added that "the crop is presently in the critical stage of grain filling, and meteorological conditions in the following weeks will determine the final yield."

Europe is the world's largest wheat growing region, with around 3% of it used for bioethanol production.

Compared to the May bulletin, the forecast for total cereals increased to 5.10 million tonnes/hectare from 5.05 million tonnes/hectare mainly due to an upward review of corn yield in key producing countries, MARS said.