PARIS: The crop conditions of winter cereals in France eased slightly in the last week of April, farm office FranceAgriMer said on Friday, ahead of a hot and dry spell that has raised concern among traders.

An estimated 89% of the French soft wheat crop was in good or excellent condition in the week to May 2, down from 91% the previous week but above a score of 79% a year earlier.

A leading technical institute said on Thursday hot and dry weather expected later this month in France, Europe’s biggest grain producer and exporter, would cause irreversible damage to grain crops. For other cereals, crop ratings also slightly eased compared with the previous week.

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The good/excellent scores for winter barley lost one point to 86% from 87% the previous week while 88% of the spring barley crop was estimated in good/excellent condition, down from 91% the previous week, FranceAgriMer said in a weekly cereal crop report.

For spring crops, some 84% of the expected grain maize area had been planted by May 2, compared with 60% progress the previous week and 87% seen a year ago.