July 29, 2010

Poland's grain production to decrease 10%

Polish grain production, excluding corn, is expected to reach 25.1-26.1 million tonnes in 2010, an on-year decrease of 10% due to lower acreage and yields, according to the statistics office.

"Lower yields were caused by bad weather conditions when the plants were growing," the statistics office said in a statement. "There was too much rain in May and the first part of June, while in the second part of June and in July it was sunny, hot and dry."

The statistics office saw the wheat crop at 9.14-9.54 million tonnes. Rapeseed production is estimated at 2.2 million tonnes, 11% lower than a year ago. Average yield for grains is estimated at 3.1-3.2 tonnes per hectare, a drop of up to 9% on 2009.

"These figures may stop grain prices in Poland from falling, but we do not expect them to rise too much as the EU sees a good harvest and the internal stocks are good as well," said Marta Skrzypczyk, an agricultural markets analyst at BGZ Bank.

She added in comparison with other forecasts, the figures were optimistic.

In 2009, Poland's reaped a total of 28 million tonnes of basic grains, while rapeseed output reached 2.5 million tonnes.