French maize ratings fall sharply as wet southwest suffers

The state of maize crops in France declined sharply last week, reflecting worsening conditions in the country's southwestern maize heartland that has endured heavy rain, data from farming agency FranceAgriMer showed. France is the European Union's biggest maize grower and also its largest grain producer overall.
FranceAgriMer estimated in a weekly report that 77 percent of grain maize crops were in good/excellent condition as of June 4, down from 84 percent a week earlier and also below a year-ago rating of 87 percent. A regional breakdown in FranceAgriMer's crop data showed conditions deteriorated particularly in the southwest, the largest maize-growing zone in France.
In the Aquitaine region, the good/excellent score fell to 54 percent from 68 percent a week earlier, while in Midi-Pyrenees the rating dropped to 66 percent from 79 percent. Conditions also declined in the eastern region of Alsace, another large maize-producing zone, with the good/excellent rating falling to 84 percent from 90 percent.
A series of storms since last May have brought torrential rain and hailstones to parts of France, causing localised flooding and damaging vineyards in the Bordeaux and Cognac areas. The southwest had already seen a very wet spring, which has held up maize sowing that was still being finished off in the region. FranceAgriMer estimated that at the national level, 98 percent of the expected grain maize area had been sown as of June 4, unchanged from a week earlier.
The condition of other cereal crops, which are more concentrated in the northern half of the country, were little changed last week. An estimated 79 pct of French soft wheat was in good/excellent condition by Monday, down from 80 pct a week earlier. For barley, the rating for winter barley was unchanged at 75 percent while the spring barley score rose to 78 percent from 77 percent.