Spain sees 2012 winter grain harvest down 24.6 percent

Spanish farmers may harvest 24.6 percent less winter grain this year than they did in 2011, the Agriculture Ministry said on Tuesday, which may substantially increase grain imports in the 2012/13 market year. Even when Spain has a bumper crop, it needs to import at least 10 million tonnes of grains a year, making it a market for producers from Argentina to Kazakhstan.
The ministry said the forecast was very preliminary, as it was based on data culled by the end of February. Farmers say rain in April may relieve the effects of a long drought in the northern grain belt, but crop damage may be irreversible in many southern regions. The three months to February were the driest recorded by the Met office in 65 years, but April and May are the months that make or break the harvest in Spain.
Spain's winter grain harvest is mainly wheat and barley, and has varied in recent years between 9 million and 20 million tonnes, which makes accurate predictions difficult. Informal estimates from farmers suggest crop damage may be up to 70 percent in Andalucia, the region that produces most of Spain's durum, and up to 50 percent in regions that normally grow 40 percent of the soft wheat harvest.