According to the forecasts of Strategie Grains analysts, the production of soft wheat in the EU may decrease next year, mainly due to precipitation in France, while barley production will increase due to the switch to spring barley due to the poor condition of winter grain crops, Reuters reports.
Thus, in their initial forecasts for the 2024 harvest, Strategie Grains experts expect the production of soft wheat in the EU at 124.8 mln tonnes, which is 1% less than in 2023 (125.9 mln tonnes).
Also, the analysts lowered their estimate of the total area under soft wheat to 21.2 mln ha, down 2.4% compared to 2023/24 MY. At the same time, last month the analysts forecasted a decline of 0.9%.
At the same time, barley production in the EU is expected to increase by more than 11% to 52.7 mln tonnes, despite the decrease of winter grain acreage by 0.8% compared to last year.
Source: Apkinform