Extensive drought and delayed sowings in eastern and central Europe could reduce the 2012 wheat and barley yields and hit rapeseed harvest, farmers and analysts said. The dry weather has hit Ukraine worst so far, with farmers and weather forecasters saying the major Black Sea grain producer could lose up to 30 percent of its winter grains.
Lack of rains is putting at risk the crops in smaller Black Sea producers Bulgaria and Romania and delayed sowings in Poland, EU's fourth biggest wheat producer, may have a negative impact on the grain output. "We have not seen such drought in five years," said Krasimir Avramov, deputy head of Bulgarian National Association told Reuters. "It puts a lot of risks for the crops, especially if the temperatures drop significantly in the winter and there is no snow coverage.
"It's even worse for the rapeseed growers. Many of them are now considering whether to re-plough the fields and plant other crops," he said. Dry weather is also a concern in Western Europe, but the planting there are in good shape to resist winter and French analyst Strategie Grains expects a rise in the European Union's wheat harvest in 2012.
About 30 percent of the sown winter crops in Ukraine have not sprouted yet and a third of those that had were in poor state. The country has planted winter grain on area of 8.1 million hectares, the same as a year earlier. Farm Minister Mykola Prysyazhnyuk said last week the country might lose about 2 million hectares of winter grain and this area could be reseeded next spring with maize or oilseeds.
Ukraine is likely to harvest a record 55 million tonnes of grain in 2011 against 39.2 million in 2010. The drought is pronounced in Romania, where farmers put to wheat 1.6 million hectares, down from a planned 2.1 million, with fieldwork severely hampered.
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