August 26, 2010
 

Extreme weather affects Germany's grain production

Germany's grain production this year is suffering from weather extremes, and to date just 43.9 million tonnes have been gathered, compared with 49.7 million tonnes a year ago, according to the German farmers' association DBV.

The figure shows a drop of nearly 12% on the year, and a decline of 4.5% from the 2005-2009 average. In addition to lower yield, the 2010 harvest is also suffering from lower quality. Earlier this month, DBV said farmers were concerned that heavy rainfall and muggy weather would impair grain quality.

The DBV grain report is based on the harvest reports of farmers' associations in the different parts of the country.