HAMBURG, Germany (Reuters) — The European Union is on course for a good crop of winter barley, but volumes are likely to be below last year’s bumper crop.
Winter barley yields of 2.2 tonnes per acre are expected, down 7.9 percent from last year’s excellent crop but up .9 percent from the average of the last five years, the European Commission’s crop agency has estimated.
Farm office FranceAgriMer estimated that 90 percent of winter barley crops were in good or excellent condition March 23, up from 67 percent a year earlier and the highest rating for the period in the past five years.
