EU: Yields are seen higher for winter barley, lower for spring varieties this year

The European Union's crop monitoring service MARS forecast on March 27 that the average soft wheat yield in the bloc would jump above average this year, more than offsetting a poor crop last year when adverse weather hammered harvests.

In its first yield forecasts for the 2017 harvest, MARS estimated that the average soft wheat yield in the bloc would rise 7.7 percent this year to 6.02 tonnes per hectare (t/ha). This would be 3.0 percent above the 5-year average.

The average winter barley yield was set to rise to 5.81 t/ha this year, 5.0 percent above 2016 and 2.4 percent higher than the 5-year average, MARS said.

"Winter crops are generally in good shape, despite extremely cold conditions in large parts of central and eastern Europe during January and the first half of February," Mars said in its monthly report.

"In general, prospects for the new season are promising," it said, adding that yield forecasts were based on historical trends or average values.

MARS noted, however, that drier-than-usual conditions prevailed in several parts of western, central and southern Europe with precipitation levels at between 50 and 80 percent below the long-term winter average in many areas.

Spring crops were expected slightly lower with the spring barley yield in the 28-country bloc seen falling 3.1 percent to 4.21 t/ha while grain yields would shed 0.9 percent to 7.12 t/ha.