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Supply Chain

French Cereal Crop Conditions Stay Favourable In Hot Spell

By Dayeeta Das
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French Cereal Crop Conditions Stay Favourable In Hot Spell

Cereal crop ratings in France were stable in the week to 14 June, with field conditions staying mostly favourable during a hot spell, data from farm office FranceAgriMer showed on Friday.

An estimated 81% of soft wheat, France's main cereal crop, was in good or excellent condition, unchanged from the previous week and well above a year-earlier score of 56%, FranceAgriMer said in a weekly cereal report.

Increasingly hot weather this month has generally been viewed as beneficial for crops after a chilly spring, keeping France on course for a rebound from last year's disappointing harvest.

Hot Spell

Temperatures in France, the European Union's biggest grain producer, reached 30 degrees Celsius (86°F) or above in much of the country earlier this week, but storms from mid-week that brought rain and more moderate heat are expected to limit the risk of crop stress.

FranceAgriMer's latest update showed soft wheat crops were still running about a week behind their average growth pace of recent years, despite expectations that the warm spell would quicken their development.

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However, traders have reported this week some initial harvesting of winter barley near the west coast of France, suggesting a similar time frame for the harvest to last year.

No winter barley harvesting was recorded in the week to 14 June, with the good/excellent rating for crops unchanged at 76%.

Elsewhere, analysts and traders have said that warm weather and showers since last month have put Europe on course for good barley yields this summer, with the timing of the harvest a key issue as crops recover from a cold start to spring.

Ratings for spring barley and grain maize were also stable, at 86% and 91% respectively, FranceAgriMer said.

News by Reuters, edited by ESM. For more Supply Chain news, click here. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.

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