July 29, 2015

Negative forecast for EU's corn harvest in 2015 due to dry weather

EU's corn harvest for 2015 is likely to reach 6.71 tonnes per hectare, a 10.4% fall from 2014 and 4.4% lower than the five-year average, the bloc's Monitoring Agricultural Resources (MARS) unit said in its monthly report.

MARS' latest forecast is based on dry conditions affecting key producing member states including France, Spain and Italy which bore the brunt of a relentless heat.

As a result of the adverse weather, non-irrigated crops suffered significant damages.

Meanwhile, the percentage of corn rated good or excellent fell to 62%, compared to 67% in the previous week and 71% by July 6, FranceAgriMer reported.

According to MARS, winter cereals are expected to stay on top of the five-year average, although the forecast for cereals overall dipped below the five-year average, given the "significant downward revision" for corn.