April 19, 2012

 

Germany lowers 2012 wheat crop forecast due to weather condition

 

 

As damage from the cold winter and dryness is becoming more apparent, the German Farm Cooperatives Association has cut its forecast for the 2012 wheat harvest to 21.5 million tonnes from 24.2 million tonnes estimated in March, it said Wednesday (Apr 18).

 

This will be down on the weather-reduced 22.7 million tonnes of wheat Germany harvested in 2011, cooperatives said. The association also cut its forecast of Germany's 2012 winter rapeseed crop to 4.3 million tonnes from 4.8 million tonnes estimated in March. But this would still be up from the 3.8 million tonnes in harvested in 2011.

 

Traders said a reduction in forecasts had been expected. "The forecast basically means that a bumper crop is no longer on the cards in Germany," one German trader said. "We are not facing a disaster but an average harvest."

 

The impact of double-digit frosts which swept though much of west Europe in February were only now being seen, the association said.

 

"The reason for this significant reduction in the harvest expectations are the sometimes massive winter damage," the association said. "The wheat, barley and also the rapeseed plants suffered more from the extreme period of frost in the first half of February than had been previously thought."

 

"In the past few weeks a large number of fields have had to be ploughed up which only in March gave no cause for concern."

 

A combination of warm weather and frosts coupled with lack of rain in past weeks has also worsened German harvest prospects, the association said.

 

"The showers in past days have, however, provided a welcome relief in some regions," it said.

 

The harvest of winter barley, used for animal feed, is now forecast at 6.8 million tonnes, down from the March forecast of 7.8 million tonnes but still up from the 2011 crop of 6.6 million tonnes. The damage to winter wheat, rapeseed and winter barley meant more spring grains than usual were being sown in Germany to replace the losses, it said.

 

The 2012 corn crop is now forecast at 4.9 million tonnes, up from 4.6 million tonnes forecast in March but still down from the 5.1 million tonnes harvested in 2011. The spring barley crop, used for malt production and beer brewing, is now forecast at 2.2 million tonnes, up from 2.07 million tonnes forecast in March and two million tonnes harvested last year.

 

Germany's grain crop of all types is likely to fall to 41.3 million tonnes from 41.8 million tonnes last year, it said.