Winter sowing in France: Rebound in rapeseed areas, decline in cereal areas

According to data released on December 7 by Agreste, the statistical service of the Ministry of Agriculture, plantings of soft wheat, durum wheat and triticale in France are down from last year. Only the seedlings of the squash are on the rise. Winter grain sole is therefore expected to stand at 6.8 million hectares, a slight decline of -0.4% from 2021, which had experienced a strong rebound. In 2022, soft wheat sole is estimated at 4.9 million hectares (Mha) (-1% compared to 2021), that of durum wheat at 278,000 ha (-4.4%), that of escourgeon at 1.2 Mha (+ 2.4%) and that of triticale at 322,000 ha (-4.1%). Rapeseed areas increased by 12.2% and are estimated at 1.1 Mha for the 2022 harvest. Despite this rebound, they remain 11% below the five-year average. Agreste has also published the update of the 2021 harvest data: the soft wheat harvest is confirmed at 35.4 million tonnes, while the production of corn (seeds included) is ...