EU cuts corn and sunflower yield forecasts

The European agency MARS has reduced its forecasts for the average yield of maize and sunflower in the European Union due to unfavourable conditions in the south and east of Europe, the Grain On-Line agency reports. While favorable weather conditions prevailed in the western part of Europe in August, excessively high temperatures in the southern and eastern parts negatively affected the accumulation of biomass and shortened the grain filling period. In most of Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary, Slovakia and Austria, the heat was aggravated by a persistent precipitation deficit. A clear and prolonged precipitation deficit was also observed in eastern Ukraine, southern Russia and Belarus, which negatively affected maize and sunflower yields. Drought conditions, reducing the potential for maize yields, were observed in ...