The maize grain harvest in France is expected to produce a record average yield of around 10 tonnes per hectare, technical institute Arvalis said on Monday. High expected yields reflected early sowing and regular rain during the second half of the growing season, Jean-Paul Renoux, Arvalis' head of maize, told Reuters.
With an area estimated at between 1.45 million and 1.5 million hectares this would produce a crop of 14.5 million to 15 million tonnes, he said. This would be above last year's maize grain crop of 13.8 million tonnes but below bumper crops seen in 2008 and 2009. Traders and analysts have been expecting high maize yields in France this year after favourable growing conditions for the crop, which unlike other grains was little affected by a spring drought and also benefited from summer rain.
In a first estimate last month, the farm ministry put this year's maize grain crop at 13.3 million tonnes, with the average yield put at 8.94 tonnes, down from 9 tonnes in 2011. Maize harvesting could get underway in France next week in areas with most advanced crops, with growers also encouraged to start field work by attractive market prices, Renoux said.
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