PARIS, March 24 (Reuters) – Grain industry lobby Coceral estimates that soft wheat production in the European Union will rise seven percent this year to 144.8 million tonnes, supported by an expected recovery in French output after last year’s poor harvest.
The projected increase in EU soft wheat production from an estimated 2016 crop of 135.1 million would include a forecast jump in French production to 38.6 million tonnes from 27.8 million last year, Coceral said in its first outlook for this year’s harvests.
France, the biggest grain producer and exporter in the 28-country EU, suffered its worst wheat harvest in three decades last year after crops were damaged by torrential rain and cool temperatures in spring.
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Coceral’s EU wheat crop outlook was broadly in line with the trend expected by other forecasters.
In oilseeds, it forecast an increase in rapeseed production to 21 million tonnes from 20.5 million last year.
A sharp decrease in the sown area in France and the UK will limit the scope for a recovery in rapeseed production after last year’s disappointing harvest, it said.
For barley, Coceral forecast stable EU production compared with last year, at 59.6 million tonnes. It expects a recovery in French output to 12 million tonnes from 10.1 million tonnes to be offset by a drop in Spain’s crop to 7.8 million tonnes from an unusually high 9.2 million tonnes last year.
Within barley production, Coceral projected spring barley output at 26.9 million tonnes, down from 28.1 million tonnes, and a winter barley crop of 32.7 million tonnes, up from 31.5 million tonnes.
Crop conditions for so-called winter cereals such as wheat and winter barley, which are sown in the autumn, are currently favourable, Coceral said.
“Recent precipitation has replenished soil moisture in many important growing areas of the EU,” it said in a note, citing central Germany and eastern France.
European farmers are currently sowing spring barley and will plant corn in the coming weeks.
For corn, Coceral tentatively projected output would rise slightly to 61 million tonnes from 60.6 million in 2016, assuming a slight recovery in French production and a fall in Hungary.
