Official estimates released this Friday show that average wheat yields have dropped from 7.9t/ha (3.2t/ac) in 2015 to 5.6t/ha (2.2t/ac) this year. France's overall soft wheat harvest is estimated to fall to 29.1mt compared with 40.9mt in 2015.

The picture is similar for other crops including maize, for which early forecasts indicate a 24% year-on-year drop in production.

1.2t/ac in places

According to a survey of grain merchants and co-ops by the farming newspaper La France Agricole, some are reporting wheat yields as low as 3t/ha (1.2t/ac).

The harvest has also been delayed by several weeks in the northern half of the country, with wet conditions continuing to hamper progress.

Areas along the country’s northern and eastern borders are worst affected. The Nord-Pas-de-Calais region along the Belgian border is reporting only 5% of wheat harvested this week, when the harvest would normally be nearing completion.

Yields down in Paris Basin breadbasket

Yields in the eastern Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region are under 4t/ha (1.6t/ac) instead of the usual 7.5t/ha (3t/ac).

In the Paris Basin breadbasket, wheat yields have dropped from 7.5-8t/ha (3-3.2t/ac) to a reported range of 4.5-5.5t/ha (1.8-2.2t/ac).

“The adverse weather conditions of the spring have led to a significant drop in yields, especially in cereals, which affects the country unevenly,” the ministry of agriculture said in a statement last week. “The bad weather has also favoured the proliferation of diseases and animals, which can affect grain quality.”

Specific weights reported to La France Agricole are mostly in the low 70s, dropping to 65kg/hl in areas worst hit by poor weather. Protein rates range from 11% to 14%.

Emergency aid

The French government has extended emergency aid and tax breaks offered to struggling livestock farmers in the past year to grain growers. It has also waived penalties on some cross-compliance regulations related to poor weather conditions.

Torrential rain in June left thousands of hectares flooded and conditions have been poor across the northern half of France for several months.

The poor French harvest is not expected to have a lasting effect on world markets, but with high stocks and yields reported in other major producing countries.

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