June 26, 2012

Germany's production of biogas using corn reduces grain production

Farm organisation Deutscher Raiffeisenverband e.V (DRV) said that as the crop competes for acreage, Germany's use of corn to make biogas is reducing grain production, hurting the country's self-sufficiency in cereals.

The cultivation of corn for biogas is expected to cut grain supply by about four million tonnes this year, the Berlin- based group wrote in an e-mailed statement Friday (June 22).

German farmers are forecast to harvest 41.5 million tonnes of grain in the period, not enough to cover average demand of about 41.8 million tonnes, according to the DRV. Germany is the EU's second-largest wheat grower and exporter, behind France.

"We're experiencing a politically-driven tightening of the grain offer, which has to be compensated by increased imports of grain substitutes such as soy," Henning Ehlers, the DRV's director, was cited as saying in the statement.

The reduced supply of domestically grown grain is causing rising feed costs and reduced competitiveness for the German dairy and livestock industry, according to Ehlers.