PARIS: Winter grain crops in the European Union are starting spring in fairly good condition and yields should rebound in 2021, the EU’s crop monitoring service said on Monday.

In its first yield forecasts for 2021, the MARS service estimated the average soft wheat yield in this year’s European Union harvest at 5.89 tonnes per hectare (t/ha), up 3.3% compared with 5.70 t/ha in 2020 and 3.5% above the average of the past five years.

MARS said that most of its initial crop yield forecasts were based on historical trends given it was still relatively early in the growing season, and that the noticeable rises were due to poor conditions in recent years.

It also forecast that the EU winter barley yield would rise 9.4% from last year to 5.88 t/ha and be 4.7% above the five-year average.

For rapeseed, the EU yield as expected to increase to 3.26 t/ha, up by 4.3% from last year and 6.8% above the five-year average.

Most of Europe experienced exceptionally warm weather following the cold spells in January and February, which contributed to rapid snow melt and the restart of growth and development following winter dormancy, MARS said.

Rain deficits in large parts of northern Europe and in the Baltic and Mediterranean regions are expected to have no negative impact on crops, it added in a monthly report.

Abundant rainfall had predominantly positive effects for crops and for the build-up of water reservoirs in Portugal, northern Spain and central Italy, but hampered spring field activities in Southern Ireland western Britain, it said.