May 24, 2022

MARS reduces yield forecast for EU wheat, barley, rapeseed harvests

MARS, the European Union's crop monitoring service, reduced its yield projections for 2022's EU wheat, barley and rapeseed harvest because of dryness, adding that significant rain is needed to stop further losses to yield, Reuters reported.

Drought in parts of Europe especially in France, a major EU grain producer, has affected an international grains market already coping with the loss of Ukrainian supplies caused by Russia's invasion into the country.

MARS reduced its projections for the EU's 2022 yield for soft wheat to 5.89 tonnes per hectare (t/ha) from 5.95 t/ha in April. Soft wheat is the EU's biggest cereal crop

MARS said that is 2.5% lower than 2021 but 0.9% up compared to the the average of the past five years.

MARS warned that weather forecasts show fewer than three days with precipitation above 5 mm (0.2 inch) across Europe for the week to May 28, and the longer-term forecast for June-August predicted that much of the region will have warmer and drier weather than normal.

MARS reduced the total predicted yield for barley to 4.89 t/ha from 4.97 t/ha last month, owing to a decrease in the forecast spring barley yield to 4.18 t/ha from 4.31 t/ha and a little decrease in the winter barley estimate to 5.78 t/ha from 5.79 t/ha.

MARS lowered its production projection for rapeseed, the EU's largest oilseed crop, from 3.19 t/ha in April to 3.17 t/ha this year.

Grain maize yields were boosted to 7.92 t/ha from 7.91 t/ha last month, sugar beet yields were increased to 78.0 t/ha from 77.8 t/ha, and sunflower seed yields were increased to 2.39 t/ha from 2.38 t/ha.

-      Reuters