December 15, 2005

EU 2006-07 grain output to rise 5 percent on-year
 

The European Union would produce 268.7 million tonnes of grain in the 2006-07 season, up 5 percent or 13.8 million tonnes on-year, according to Strategie Grains, a monthly analytical report published Thursday.

In Strategie Grains' first official crop estimates for the 2006-07 season, EU cereal acreage is expected to remain mostly stable but yields are calculated to be up 6 percent or back to trend-line levels.

EU soft wheat output for 2006-07 is forecast at 121.9 million tonnes, up 6 percent from 2005-06. The largest increases are for Spain following the 2005-06 drought, with recoveries also expected for France and Germany.

Overall EU soft wheat area is expected to be up 2 percent, while yields are estimated to be 4 percent higher.

The 2006-07 EU corn crop is forecast at 50.0 million tonnes, up 4 percent on-year. Strategie Grains said the largest increases would be in France, Spain, Italy and Poland, which should be offset by a reduction for Hungary.

Despite the likely rise in French production, Strategie Grains said corn output there would hold at a relatively low level of 14.5 million tonnes due to a projected decline in corn plantings. In a normal year, French corn production comes in about 16.0 million tonnes, the report said.