Source: Ukragroconsult (Ukraine)
In France, the largest grain producer in the European Union, this year will see the lowest wheat harvest since 1983, writes Bloomberg with reference to the forecast of the Argus price agency.
The reason for the crop failure is excessive rainfall, lack of sufficient sunlight and low temperatures. All of this contributed to the development of plant diseases and affected yields and the quality of harvests in most agricultural regions of France.
Argus estimates that production could fall to 25.2 million tons of wheat, which is 27% below the five-year average.
“To find such a low yield, you have to go back to 1983, when 24.5 million tons were harvested. The entire French grain industry could suffer the consequences of this historic drop in production,” said Gautier Le Molgat, director of Argus Media France.
Bloomberg writes that the French crop shortfall has not yet affected world market prices. Prices on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange remain near four-year lows as the market supports the US harvest.