PARIS: Growing conditions for French soft wheat remain favourable, with 88% of crops rated good or excellent in the week to March 8, unchanged from the previous week, data from farm office FranceAgriMer showed on Friday.

The rating was well above the corresponding score of 63% a year ago, when crop development was hampered by torrential rain.

Durum, the wheat variety used in pasta, showed the same good/excellent rating of 88%, also stable on the week and above a year-earlier score of 67%.

Conditions for winter barley were similarly favourable, with 85% of crops rated good or excellent against 84% the previous week, FranceAgriMer said in its weekly cereal crop report.

That compared with a year-earlier score of 63%.

Sowing of spring barley was nearing an end, with 90% of the expected area drilled by March 8, the office said.

That compared with a week-earlier figure of 51% and year-earlier progress of 33%.