July 12, 2012

Czech Republic's 2012 grain production down 18.6% on year

The Czech Statistics Office or CSU said Wednesday (July 11) that the country's total grain harvest this year is projected at 5.865 million tonnes, down 18.6% from last year's record harvest of 7.206 million tonnes.

The estimate is the first of the season and based on data collected from local farmers in late June. The estimate shows that the 2012 grain harvest may be nearly 6% below the five-year average annual harvest, the CSU said.

The estimated wheat crop yield is expected to total 4.43 tonnes a hectare, down from 5.34 tonnes a hectare in 2011.

The CSU said unfavourable weather earlier this year lead to an expected decrease in yields of all types of grain.

Rye yields are expected to be 4.44 tonnes a hectare, down from last year's 4.74 tonnes a hectare.

The estimated crop yield of rapeseed is seen at 2.78 tonnes per hectare, down from 2.80 tonnes a hectare last year.