With the new estimate, the crop would only be slightly higher than the 2016-17 crop, which was 295.6 million tonnes. The wheat crop is forecast at 150.8 million tonnes, which is well above the 145.2 million tonnes harvested last year, COCERAL said.
Production in France was revised upward from 64.4 million tonnes to 67.6 million tonnes, but this was offset by downward revisions for Germany and Spain.
The E.U.’s barley crop is now estimated at 58.1 million tonnes, with a reduction occurring mainly for Germany and Spain.
Corn production should again be disappointing, COCERAL said, and reach just 59.2 million tonnes, which means another slight downward revision in the crop from the previous number of 60 million tonnes.
The E.U. has seen a significant drop in acreage in the last three years, the association said. French yields are expected to be good, but weather conditions have dropped yield potential in Hungary and Serbia.
The 2017-18 rapeseed crop in the E.U. is now expected at 22.1 million tonnes, which is a slight upward revision from the previous number of 21.4 million tonnes. The production estimate for France has been significantly revised up, while estimates for Germany and Poland has been lowered due to disappointing yields.
