EU Crops Seen Outperforming 5-Year Averages- MARS
23/05/16 -- EU grains mostly lower, with fresh news scarce.
New front month Jul 16 London wheat closed down GBP0.40/tonne at GBP107.45/tonne, Sep 16 Paris wheat was EUR0.50/tonne lower at EUR163.00/tonne, June corn closed EUR0.75/tonne higher at EUR167.00/tonne and Aug 16 Paris rapeseed closed EUR0.50/tonne lower at EUR369.25/tonne.
The latest MARS Crop monitoring in Europe Bulletin, published today, reports that the current prospects for EU-28 yields are generally above the five-year average, despite a cold spell at the end of April.
EU soft wheat average yields were pegged at 6.11 MT/ha, unchanged from last month, but up almost 5% on the 5-year average.
Total EU-28 barley yields were forecast 1% higher than a month ago and up 5.7% on the 5-year average at 4.99 MT/ha.
Rapeseed yields were pegged 1.8% lower than previously at 3.29 MT/ha, but still a 2.6% increase compared to the 5-year average.
"The first two weeks of April were exceptionally warm in south-eastern, eastern and parts of central Europe. Maximum daily temperatures reached 25°C to 30°C, and even exceeded 30°C in several regions of the South-East," they said.
"A cold spell at the end of April affected many regions of central Europe, parts of western Europe and the northwestern Balkans. Sparse rainfall was recorded in northeastern Germany, north-western Poland, southern France, southern Greece and Sicily," they added.
In the UK Specifically: "Rainfall and temperature conditions strongly fluctuated during the period of review. Sowing was delayed due to wet conditions and a cold period stalled development. May, so far, generally presented favourable conditions, allowing spring sowings to be completed and young stands to recover. Yield outlooks remain close to average.
"Winter crops are faring well. Development is slightly advanced in most of the UK and close to average in Ireland. Pest and disease pressure remains high," they noted.