EU soybean harvest lower than last year due to severe decline in the Balkans

Published 2024년 12월 9일

Tridge summary

The EU Commission has downgraded its soybean crop forecast for 2024, predicting a decrease from the previous year despite a 10% increase in planted area. The reduction is largely due to lower yields caused by poor growing conditions, with Romania experiencing the most significant drop. Hungary saw a rise in production, but it still fell short of expectations. Italian imports of soybeans have decreased by 5%, and the planted area has shrunk by nearly 3%. The Balkans are also grappling with their lowest sunflower harvest predictions in a decade due to adverse weather conditions.

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Original content

This year’s soybean crop in the EU is likely to be behind last year’s result, even though the planted area in 2024 has been expanded, according to an updated estimate by the EU Commission. The decline is particularly marked in Romania, notes UFOP, an oilseed and cereal crop promotion union founded by the German Farmers’ Association. In its current assessment, the EU Commission has slightly revised the EU soybean production forecast downward. Just under 2.8 mln tons were harvested in 2024, about 10 thsd tons less than the previous year, although planted area increased by 10%. The decisive factor was lower yields due to unfavorable growing conditions during the period. With an average EU-wide yield of 2.57 t/ha, not only the previous year’s result of 2.83 t/ha, but also the long-term average of 2.81 t/ha could not be achieved. The Balkan states, primarily Romania, were particularly affected by the decline in yields. Due to drought, the harvest there fell to 171 thousand tons, which ...

Source: UkrAgroConsult