MarketsFarm — Total grain production in the European Union is expected to decrease overall by 2.4 per cent in 2022-23, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture attachés throughout the multi-nation bloc.
For the coming crop year, they forecast production to be 286.02 million tonnes of wheat, corn, barley, rye, oats, mixed grains and others.
One of the reasons for the reduction in grains produced, the report noted, was the high price for rapeseed, leading farmers to switch to the oilseed. Other reasons included the dryness across much of the southern EU, the high cost of fertilizer and its reduced supply.
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On the plus side, the attachés said EU winter crops fared quite well, with winterkill not a major issue.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine will prove to be somewhat problematic for the EU as it must source a number of crop imports from elsewhere — corn in particular, as the EU traditionally imports significant amounts from Ukraine. Reports out of the war-stricken country indicated planting of spring crops was down about 75 per cent compared to last year.
At 135.3 million tonnes, wheat will remain the most bountiful crop grown in the EU, remaining at a little more than 47 per cent of total production. Corn is second at 67.5 million tonnes, followed by barley at 52.37 million.
The attachés pegged the total carryover for EU grains to step back 1.4 per cent from last year at 27.95 million tonnes.
Table: EU total grain production estimates (in thousands of metric tonnes).
| Grain. . | Production, . | Production, . | Carryout, . | Carryout, |
| crops | 2021-22 | 2022-23 | 2021-22 | 2022-23 |
| Total | 292,999 | 286,020 | 28,342 | 27,952 |
| Wheat | 138,330 | 135,300 | 12,690 | 12,580 |
| Corn | 70,500 | 67,500 | 8,735 | 8,470 |
| Barley | 52,577 | 52,370 | 5,257 | 5,617 |
| Mixed | 14,970 | 14,500 | 495 | 440 |
| Rye | 7,958 | 7,730 | 682 | 472 |
| Oats | 7,643 | 7,540 | 454 | 344 |
| Sorghum | 1,021 | 1,080 | 29 | 29 |
Source: USDA Global Agriculture Information Network.
