BERLIN, GERMANY – Germany, the European Union’s second largest wheat producer, will harvest a larger wheat crop this year despite the impact of an early summer heatwave followed by repeated rain, the agriculture ministry said on Aug. 29.
It said the wheat harvest of all types will reach 23.03 million tonnes, about 13% larger than the previous year’s crop, which was ravaged by a summer-long drought.
However, the country’s winter wheat crop is 6% under the six-year average, the ministry said.
The news regarding Germany’s 2018-19 rapeseed crop wasn’t as good as the ministry said rapeseed production will fall 21% from the previous year’s crop to 2.9 million tonnes. The ministry said the drop occurred because of a big reduction in rapeseed plantings due to a dry planting season in the fall of 2018.
Germany is among the European Union’s top producers of rapeseed.