ΠThe prolonged heat waves and lack of rainfall this summer have rearranged the accounts of European farmers. Expectations for stable yields have been dampened by the drought, which has hit important agricultural regions in Western and Central Europe.
This has prompted Brussels to raise its expectations for the autumn campaign on the Old Continent. The blight has most severely affected crop yields in France, Hungary and Western Romania.
A new report by the European Commission's Agricultural Crops Monitoring Unit - JRC MARS, reports a rather bleak picture for almost all spring and summer crops.
Πri Essentsi harvests include timely and The average fields are holding up, but the summer crops are suffering from a lack of soil moisture just at the time of flowering and grain filling, experts write.
The US is profiting from the crisis. Europe is reducing exports and increasing imports. Ukraine has logistics problems. Because of this, the US USDA has increased its forecast for the US corn crop by 75 million bushels.
A heavy blow
The heaviest blow has been to grain corn. The losses were so great that in many places in Western Europe farmers began to harvest it early for green fodder and silage with the idea of saving some of the biomass.
The USDA report for August dropped the European corn harvest by 3.6 million tons to 50.2 million. This is the lowest level in nearly two decades.
The import is raised to 23.5 million - mainly from Ukraine, but the country is experiencing problems with grain transportation due to frequent drone strikes at the Odessa port.
ΠPasture productivity has also decreased significantly, raising concerns about the supply of fodder. ΠThe problem is observed in Germany, France and the Benelux countries.
Flour is an indispensable food for poultry, pigs and cattle. A crisis in the harvest can mean a crisis in the entire chain - in livestock and in the pockets of the peasants.
What is the situation in our country?
The eastern regions and the Black Sea region are experiencing much more favorable conditions this year.
This is observed in Southern Ukraine, Eastern Romania and in our country. Summer crops continue to benefit from favorable moisture and rainfall conditions, according to the report.
However, increasing water scarcity and the risk of reduced irrigation availability could negatively impact crop development.
ΠCorn yields in the US have decreased by about 23% to about 322 thousand. hectares. AgroPortal expects production to recover to around 2.73 million tons.
Bulgaria's yields remain above the 5-year average due to relatively favorable weather. The July rains have delayed the harvest, but due to this, the wheat and barley harvest is expected to be record high.
Agricultural experts predict a favorable environment for us.