French soft wheat yield seen down slightly on varied weather impact

This year’s French soft wheat harvest is expected to bring a lower yield than average as hot, dry weather hurt crops in some areas, crop institute Arvalis and grain industry group Intercereales said on Friday.

The 2022 yield is forecast to reach 6.95 tonnes per hectare, down 2% from last year and 3% below the 10-year average, they said.

“This national estimate masks significant contrasts locally, mainly due to water and heat stress as well as, more occasionally, frost and hail events,” Arvalis and Intercereales said in a statement.

Like other observers, they said that crops in shallow soils suffered particularly from spring drought.

In contrast, plants in deep soil coped better with dryness and benefited from sunshine, they said, adding that the return of rain in early June boosted crops in later-developing zones.

Soft wheat harvesting got off to an early start in southern regions last month, following an exceptional heatwave. Farm office FranceAgriMer said on Friday that 5% of the national soft wheat area had been harvested by June 27, versus zero a year ago.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which has stalled sea exports of its grain and complicated trade with Russia because of Western sanctions, has put a greater focus on supplies in the European Union and its biggest wheat producing member, France.

Arvalis and Intercereales did not give a production forecast. But taking their yield projection with the farm ministry’s area estimate of 4.76 million hectares would give a soft wheat crop of about 33.1 million tonnes, broadly in line with recent market expectations.

Arvalis projected that protein content – a key quality requirement in milling markets – in the French soft wheat crop would reach 11.6%, close to the 10-year average.
Source: Reuters (Reporting by Gus Trompiz; Editing by Jan Harvey and Clarence Fernandez)