France sees 25% drop in 2024 soft wheat crop after relentless rainfall

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By Sybille de La Hamaide

PARIS, Aug 9 (Reuters) - France's farm ministry on Friday sharply lowered its estimate of the country's 2024 soft wheat output, now expected 25% below last year's volume, making it one of the worst harvests of these past 40 years in the European Union's largest grain grower.

Wet weather since the autumn in France have delayed plantings, hurt plant development and increased crop disease, prompting observers to regularly cut their grain crop estimates.

"As of August 1, 2024, cereal harvests are still underway, delayed by humidity and stormy episodes in July. Yields are revised downwards for all of these crops," the ministry said in a note.

"Combined with exceptionally low area (4.2 million hectares (Mha), -10.8% compared to 2023) due to the weather conditions of winter 2023, this yield places 2024 among the three smallest soft wheat harvests of the last 40 years."

A graphic pointed to the lowest harvest since 1986.

The ministry's wheat estimate is still above French analyst which have pegged the harvest between 25-26 million tons.

Total grain production in France is now estimated around 10 million tons below last year's at 54.8 million for 2024.

In contrast many spring crops benefited from the difficult sowing conditions for winter grains with soggy fields prompting farmers to delay or renew their plantings.

In a first forecast for this year's production of grain maize, the ministry anticipated output of 13.75 million tons, a rise of 9% from 12.62 million in 2023.

For barley, the total output was expected at 10.4 million tons, down from a previous estimate of 11.3 million and now 15% below 2023. Of this winter barley production was expected to fall 26% to 7.2 million tons while spring barley would rise 25% to 3.2 million. (Reporting by Sybille de La Hamaide; editing by Jason Neely)