PARIS: Ratings for French maize crop conditions set another record low last week as the cereal continued to show the effects of exceptionally hot and dry summer weather, data from FranceAgriMer showed on Friday.
By September 7, 26percent of grain maize crops were in good or excellent condition, down from 27percent a week earlier. That was the lowest score in the office’s records, which date back to 2011.
The latest rating compares with 62percent a year ago.
Maize (corn) is the cereal crop that has suffered most from the extreme weather, as summer marks the peak of its growing season.
France’s agriculture ministry has forecast a 35percent drop in grain maize production from last year.
Analysts expect output to plunge by around half to its lowest level since 1976. France experienced its hottest June to August period in records going back to 1900, and its second-driest summer since 1959, according to national weather service Meteo-France.
Southern regions experienced another heatwave last week, with temperatures reaching 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) in some areas.
Temperatures have eased this week but rainfall has remained limited except for localised showers.
Farmers have made an early start to harvesting grain maize.
By Monday, 9percent of the crop had been cut, against a five-year average of 2percent for the same week.