Paris | Reuters — The European Commission on Friday cut its estimate of this year’s drought-hit maize harvest in the European Union to a new 15-year low while again raising its projection for this season’s maize imports.
European maize (corn) crops endured severe drought and several heatwaves during the crucial summer growth period.
The Commission reduced its estimate of usable production of maize in the EU in 2022-23 to 53.3 million tonnes from 54.9 million a month ago, further confirming the crop will be the smallest since 2007.
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In a presentation accompanying the Commission’s data, the EU executive branch said the latest production cut reflected downward revisions to area and/or yield in Romania and to a lesser extent in France.
The Commission increased its EU maize import forecast in the 2022-23 season to 23 million tonnes from the 22 million estimate a month earlier.
EU maize imports have been running at more than double last season’s pace, as buyers have taken advantage of a recovery in shipments from war-torn Ukraine to help cover the shortfall from the EU harvest.
For soft wheat, the EU’s most-produced cereal, the Commission reduced its outlook for exports in 2022-23 to 34 million tonnes against the 36 million forecast a month ago.
Some soft wheat demand was shifted toward livestock feed use, with a one million-tonne increase.
But the lower export forecast together with a one million-tonne upward revision to imports led the Commission to increase its forecast of soft wheat stocks by the end of 2022-23 to 15.5 million tonnes from 13.7 million in October.
In oilseeds, the Commission cut sharply its estimate of the bloc’s sunflower seed crop, which like maize was hurt by torrid summer weather, with production now pegged at 9.3 million tonnes against 10 million previously.
For rapeseed, estimated 2022-23 output was trimmed to 19.4 million tonnes from 19.6 million but remained well above last season’s 17.1 million tonnes.
— Gus Trompiz reports on commodities and agriculture for Reuters from Paris.
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