March 6, 2013

EU wheat crop to increase by next season

In the season beginning in July, wheat production in the EU, the world's second-largest exporter, will increase.

The harvest may total 131.1 million tonnes in the 2013-14 season that starts July 1, up from 123.3 million tonnes a year earlier, the European Commission said in an online report. Forecasts for the season include 28 countries, as Croatia will join the bloc in July. Last year, drought reduced crops in some southern and eastern countries. Precipitation since mid-January has helped replenish soil moisture from Spain to Romania, the EU's Monitoring Agricultural Resources unit said February 25.

Wheat exports to countries outside the EU may total 16.5 million tonnes, compared with shipments of 14.9 million tonnes a year earlier from the bloc's current 27 countries. Croatia's wheat exports in the 2012-13 season were 350,000 tonnes, with production at 800,000 tonnes, according to the USDA.

Total grain production in the EU may be 291.1 million tonnes, including 65.3 million tonnes of corn and 54.6 million tonnes of barley, the EU said. That compares with total output of 272.3 million tonnes a year earlier. Rapeseed production in 2013-14 will be 20.5 million tonnes, compared with 19.3 million tonnes a year earlier, according to the report.