Spring rains will push Romania's wheat harvest to a record-high level

Romania, one of the largest grain producers in the European Union, expects a record-high wheat harvest this year, as abundant spring rains are expected to help the country recover from last year's drought, analysts and the Ministry of Agriculture reported. The drought and heat waves last summer damaged the harvest in Romania and other parts of Europe, with corn and sunflower seeds suffering double-digit losses. However, regular rains this season, including in April and May, have helped mitigate the drought. Agriculture Minister Florin Barbu said earlier this week that he expects the wheat harvest to reach 14-15 million tons. Ceazar Gheorghe from the Romanian grain market consulting company AGRIColumn told Reuters on Friday that he forecasts the harvest at 13-13.3 million tons, which would still be a historic maximum for the country and surpass the record harvest of 2021. "The additional surplus of Romanian wheat will partially compensate for its deficit... which may exert downward ...