Drought and heat stress have further cut yield expectations for the European Union's cereals harvest this year, with productivity likely to fall by nearly three percent from 2005, the European Commission said on Friday.
Average cereal yields were forecast at 4.8 tonnes per hectare for 2006, down by 2.7 percent from the last harvest and below the 5.1 tonnes predicted in the Commission's last yield report issued in mid-July.
Soft wheat yields were pegged at 5.7 tonnes/hectare, down by 4.0 percent from 2005. Maize yields were seen 5.1 percent lower at 7.9 tonnes and barley down 0.3 percent at 4.1 tonnes.
The latest forecasts compare with the mid-July yield figures of 6.1 tonnes/hectare for soft wheat and 8.2 tonnes for maize.
Total 2006 wheat production, combining soft and durum varieties, could fall by 4.3 million tonnes from last year. For maize, where the sown area is lower than in 2005, output would fall by at least 3.9 million tonnes, the report said.
Crops in Britain, France, Germany, Italy and Poland appeared to be the most affected by the recent hot weather, said the report, which was compiled by the Commission's research unit. "Frequent and persistent heat waves associated with dry conditions characterised the whole month of July," the Commission said in a statement.
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