LONDON, ENGLAND — The United Kingdom’s 2020 wheat harvest is projected to drop by 40% compared to the 2019 crop, according to Britain’s farming and environment ministry, which gave its final estimate for the year on Dec. 22.
The sharp reduction in output, to around 10 million tonnes, is due to a wet fall in 2019 that forced farmers to spring-planted crops such as barley, as well as a dry spring that led to lower yields, the ministry said.
Because of the poor domestic crop, the UK has been forced to nearly double its wheat imports for 2020.
The ministry also cut its 2020 estimates for barley and rapeseed.
The ministry projects barley output at 8.36 million tonnes, down from its October estimate of 8.36 million but almost 1% higher than the 2019 crop. The ministry reduced its estimate for the UK rapeseed crop from 1.07 million tonnes in October to 1.04 million tonnes, a 40% decrease year-on-year.
