Rainfall worsens grain quality in the EU, but boosts sunflower yields

In their regular monthly report for August, analysts at the European Agency for the Monitoring of Agricultural Resources (MARS) said that heavy rainfall in north-western, northern and central Europe had slowed the pace of the autumn harvest and likely had a negative impact on yields and grain quality, especially in northwestern France, a significant part of Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg. Heavy rains with hail have damaged crops in northern Italy, Croatia and Slovenia. At the same time, in Bulgaria, Romania, the Czech Republic and Poland, the outlook for harvests worsens due to excessive heat and drought. However, the agency's analysts made minor changes to their estimates for European Union autumn yields in the 2023-2024 season, while the forecast for sunflower yields was revised upwards as better-than-expected weather conditions in Spain and France offset the decline. in the prediction of mining in Bulgaria. Estimated average yields for common wheat in the EU ...