The EU grain harvest is estimated to be 317.68m tonnes in 2014, according to COPA-COGECA figures released this week.

This estimate is an increase of 6.1% on last year and comes mainly from increased wheat production. The figures in Table 1 suggest wheat production (excluding durum) to be just over 146 Mt, up from almost 135 Mt last year.

The output from most of the different cereal crops was up in 2014 compared with the previous year, with maize showing the other big increase.

Output from three crops – oats, durum wheat and rye – was lower in 2014, partly as a consequence of the lower planted area. But the overall area planted in 2014 is estimated to be 3.5% higher than in 2013.