Winnipeg, (MarketsFarm) – European grain production is expected to be down slightly in 2020, according to the first forecast for the year from European trade association Coceral.
In the report, released Feb. 20, Coceral pegged total grain production for the European Union and the United Kingdom in 2020 at 302.7 million tonnes, which would be down from the 2019 level of 308.9 million tonnes.
Of that total, wheat production (excluding durum) is forecast to be down five per cent on the year at 137.9 million tonnes. The decline was linked to acreage reductions in France, Germany, Denmark and the United Kingdom, after heavy rains hampered planting operations in the fall. Yield reductions are also forecast for France, Denmark and the UK.
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Coceral forecasts European barley production in 2020 at 60.8 million tonnes, which would be down from the 62.2 million tonnes grown in 2019, with most of the reduction linked to a return to average yields.
🆕📢 COCERAL publishes first 2020 #GrainCropForecast
In its first forecast for new year, COCERAL sees the EU total #graincrop at 302.7 mln t. This is down from the 2019 level of 308.9 mln t.
Read more ⬇️https://t.co/Zmnfk18NXl pic.twitter.com/89rtZIK9NA
— COCERAL (@COCERAL_EU) February 21, 2020
While wheat and barley production may be down on the year, the corn crop is forecast to rise by 6.5 per cent, to 65.0 million tonnes, as the wet weather that hampered fall seeding for winter grains should see some extra area seeded to corn.
European rapeseed production is forecast at 17.1 million tonnes, which compares with the 16.7 million tonnes grown the previous year.
