France: Winter barley production forecast up 7.3% this year

France's farm ministry on June 13 forecast the country's 2023 winter barley production at 9.07 million tonnes, up 7.3% from 8.45 million tonnes last year and the highest since 2019, Nasdaq reported.

In its first production estimates for this year's harvest, the ministry projected the winter rapeseed crop at 4.63 million tonnes, up 2.6% from 4.51 million in 2022 and the highest since 2018.

Winter barley and rapeseed had benefited from favourable weather during the growing season, the ministry said, adding that its estimates were based on data as of late May and yield potential may evolve during June ahead of summer harvesting.

A dry, warm spell in northern France has started to temper very good conditions so far this year for grain crops.

The ministry's winter barley crop forecast was based on an expected yield of 6.83 tonnes per hectare, up from 6.54 last year, and an estimated crop area of 1.33 million hectares, up from 1.29 million in 2022, the ministry said.

The projected winter rapeseed production was based on an expected yield of 3.44 tonnes per hectare, down from 3.68 last year, and an estimated crop area of 1.35 million hectares, up from 1.23 million in 2022.

Winter rapeseed accounts for almost all rapeseed production in France. Barley production, however, includes a significant portion of spring crop.

In revisions to area estimates, grain maize sowing, excluding crop grown for seeds, was trimmed to 1.23 million hectares from an initial forecast of 1.25 million last month. The new estimate was nearly 9% lower than last year's level and 15% below the average of the past five years.

For soft wheat, France's most-produced cereal, the ministry kept unchanged its 2023 area estimate at 4.77 million hectares, 1.6% above 2022 and up 0.1% against the five-year average.

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