European Union crop monitoring service MARS on Monday forecast that the average soft wheat yields in the EU, including Britain, would fall 2.1% from last year, mainly owing to excessive rain in western Europe offseting good crop weather elsewhere.
In its first yield forecast for 2020, MARS projected EU soft wheat yields at 5.88 tonnes per hectares (t/ha) this year, down from 6.01 t/ha in 2019. That would still be 1.9% above the five-year average.
It projected winter barley yields at 4.85 t/ha, down 2.8% from last year, while rapeseed yields that were hit by adverse weather last year are expected to rebound 6.8% to 3.18 t/ha.
Most of Europe experienced one of the warmest winters on record, with regions recording temperatures 2-4 degrees Celsius above average. Even greater anomalies were seen in eastern and northern Europe, where crops are well advanced and in good condition, MARS said.
However, excessive rain in important grain-producing regions in northwest Europe and a dry spell in southern countries were causing concern. Wet conditions in France, Germany, Britain and Benelux countries meant that crops did not settle well, field work was hampered and spring crop sowings are delayed, the report said.
The more settled weather forecast for the second half of March may not be sufficient to catch up fully, it added. In contrast, sufficient rain is forecast to partially restore soil moisture levels in Spain, Greece, eastern Romania, and northern Bulgaria, MARS said, though soil water conditions are expected to remain critical in southern Italy.
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