France raises corn harvest estimate again

PARIS (Reuters) - France has raised its official estimate of this year's corn harvest for the third month in a row, saying summer rains helped rainfed farms recover from last year's drought. The country's grain corn production, excluding the seed crop, was estimated at 12.20 million metric tons, up from the 11.78 million forecast in October and 13.3% above the 2022 volume. The Ministry of Agriculture reported on Tuesday. The difference in yield between rainfed and irrigated farms is expected to be smaller than last year and the average for the last five years, according to the ministry. However, grain corn production estimated by the ministry was 6.3% below the five-year average, since the sharp drop in the area planted this year offset the good yields. Farmers are finishing the corn harvest, the final phases of which have been hampered by the heavy rains that have fallen in France since the end of October. Regarding common wheat, the main French cereal, the estimated production ...