Barley yields in Bulgaria have increased by 3 t/ha since 2004

In the latest USDA December report, which stirred up international grain markets, analysts from the US Department of Agriculture again made adjustments to the balances for Bulgaria. Wheat areas were increased by 3 Kha to 1193 Kha, while the harvest remained unchanged at 7MMt (0.1Mt more than in 2023). Barley production was increased to 1.1Mt (0.8Mt – 2023) compared to the November forecast of 1.087Mt due to an increase in yields. Compared to the previous season, when farmers harvested 0.8Mt of barley, this year's harvest is 0.3Mt larger. The growth is due not only to better yields, but also to an increase in areas. It seems that this year the areas will be larger. This year's harvest of 1.1Mmt (according to USDA data) is the largest since 2020. The closest we have come to this number was in 2004, when 1Mmt was reported. Interestingly, if then they were harvested from 350Kha, then this year we harvested 1.1Mmt from 188Kha. - an almost double decrease in areas, that is, yields have ...