EU agriculture department cuts corn crop forecast after heavy rains

PARIS (Reuters) - The European Union's crop monitoring service MARS on Monday cut its yield forecasts for the corn, sunflower and soybean crops, citing excessive rainfall in southeastern Europe, while the harvest of sugar beet showed better results than expected. At the same time, above-average rainfall, also recorded in other parts of the bloc, has delayed sowing for next year's winter crops, he said. Analysts have repeatedly cut their forecasts for the EU corn harvest, initially because of hot weather in southeastern Europe and then because of excessive rain during harvest in some parts of the bloc. In a monthly report, MARS pegged the average corn yield in 2024 at 6.66 metric tons per hectare (t/ha), down from 6.85 t/ha in September and 11% below last year. This was MARS' fifth consecutive reduction in its corn yield forecast. For sunflower, the forecast was reduced from 1.98 t/ha to 1.86 t/ha, while the average soybean yield was placed at 2.72 t/ha, below the 2.81 t/ha in ...