PARIS: Conditions of French soft wheat improved slightly in the week to March 31, farm office FranceAgriMer said on Friday, suggesting that crops have benefited from recent dry weather in many parts of the country.
French crops have been hurt by heavy rain that delayed plantings and hampered early growth, raising fears of a repeat of last year’s rain-hit harvest, the smallest since the 1980s.
Ratings of soft wheat in France, the biggest producer in the European Union, showed that 76% of the crop was in good or excellent condition by March 31, up from 74% a week earlier and above a four-year low of 65% at the same time last year.
FranceAgriMer also said it rated 71% of winter barley in good or excellent condition, up from 70% a week earlier but down from 66% in the same week of 2024.
For durum wheat, 81% of the crop was in good or very good condition, up from 80% a week earlier. In its first estimate for spring barley, FranceAgriMer said 86% was in good or excellent condition, against 61% a year earlier.
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