BRUSSELS, BELGIUM — Wheat production in the European Union (EU) in 2022 is expected to decline by more than 3 million tonnes compared to 2021, according to Coceral, a European association representing the trade in cereals and other agricultural products.

In its first forecast for the 2022 EU-27+UK grain crop, Coceral projected wheat output at 139.8 million tonnes, down slightly from the previous year mainly due to a return to average yields in the Balkan region.

The French wheat crop is forecast to be down by almost 1 million tonnes year-on-year, while the German crop is seen higher by about 500,000 tonnes. The EU-27+UK 2022 barley production is forecast at 59 million tonnes, marginally down from 59.4 million tonnes this year.

The EU-27+UK 2022 corn crop is expected to be unchanged year-on-year at 66.4 million tonnes, with a much larger crop in Hungary, but slightly smaller crops in Poland, Germany, France and Romania.

The EU-27+UK rapeseed crop is forecast to recover from 18.5 million tonnes to 20 million tonnes, mainly because of higher plantings in several countries, including Germany, France, the UK, Romania and Bulgaria.

COCERAL sees the total grain crop in the EU-27+UK at 304.5 million tonnes, down slightly from the 307.6 million tonnes harvested in 2021.