French wheat crop ratings ease, maize planting stays brisk in dry spell

PARIS: The condition of French soft wheat crops declined slightly last week while maize planting remained ahead of the usual pace as a dry spell continued in the European Union’s biggest grain producer, data from farm office FranceAgriMer showed on Friday.

Ratings of French soft wheat crops showed 83percent were in good or excellent condition by April 20, down from 84percent a week earlier but up from 74percent a year ago, FranceAgriMer said in a cereal crop report.

The good/excellent rating for spring barley also slipped to 92percent from 93percent, while the corresponding scores for winter barley and durum were both unchanged on the week at 81percent.

For grain maize, farmers had sown 56percent of the expected area by Monday, against 31percent a week earlier and 49percent a year ago.

That was also ahead of average progress of 37percent for the past five years.

However, the share of maize crops to have emerged was down slightly compared with last year, at 11percent against 12percent.