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PARIS, FRANCE — Warm weather helps European wheat crops bounce back from cold spring weather, Reuters reported.

Forecasts for soft wheat output has increased since late May, with COCERAL now estimating combined EU and Britain crop up 14% compared to 2020.

Benjamin Bodart, an analyst with Agritel, told Reuters “Crops are a bit behind, but conditions are fine. We cannot talk about a disastrous crop anymore, we are back to an average-plus crop. The issue could be more about the quality than the quantity of the European crop.”

Heavy rain in Romania increased the risk of milling quality decreasing, Bodart said.

France is anticipated to see a larger harvest estimate as more warm temperatures are expected. Agritel forecasts the French wheat crop to be 38 million tonnnes a step up from its worst crop in decades last year with 29 million tonnes, Reuters said.

Similar to France, Germany is anticipated to benefit from the warm weather specifically limiting harvest delays, but a German grain analyst did warn of potential damage that could be caused by summer heat and drought.

Poland’s wheat production is expected to increase to 12.2 million tonnes, said Wojtek Sabaranski, an analyst for Sparks Polska.

Sabaranski told Reuters, “It is likely that we will harvest a bumper wheat crop this year, as the condition of wheat in the country is really good.”

Britain is anticipating a return to more average level planted area. Peter Collier, an analyst at CRM Agri, said record yields are not expected as some fields remain patchy, but the UK wheat crop estimate is up toward 15 million tonnes. In 2020, Britain harvested its smallest wheat crop in more than three decades of 9.66 million tonnes, Reuters said.

Source: World Grain