With the most grains in the ground in the European hemisphere, the first forecasts for the 2018 harvest are also established. It starts with a plus sign, despite the fact that the growing conditions are not ideal everywhere.
Analyst firm Stratégie Grains has published an initial forecast for the European grain harvest. They estimate that the total harvest in the European Union (EU) will be 304,9 million tons. That means a plus of 1,9% on top of the 2017 harvest.
Wet conditions
This year's grain harvest has been negatively adjusted due to poor weather conditions in the Baltic States, Scandinavia and the northern areas of Germany and Poland. This also makes it difficult to sow winter grain in these countries. Due to excessive rainfall, tractors and seeders could not enter the land.
In Spain, Italy and Greece it is much too dry, which means that the grain has difficulty with initial development. In the other European member states, crops are currently doing very well. With the same area, a higher harvest is currently expected than in the 2016/2017 season.