PARIS: The state of French soft wheat declined slightly last week, remaining at its poorest in four years, while maize plantings progressed, data from farm office FranceAgriMer showed on Friday. Ratings of French soft wheat showed 63% was in good or excellent condition by April 22, down from 64% the previous week and 94% a year earlier, farm office FranceAgriMer said in its crop report. The rating was the lowest for the time of year since 2020, when French wheat crops were also affected by heavy rain during planting, according to FranceAgriMer data.

The good/excellent score for winter barley crops also edged down, to 66% from 67% a week earlier, to remain at its lowest for the time of year in FranceAgriMer records going back a decade. Maize sowing, which has been slowed by wet conditions, was

26% complete by Monday. That compared with 13% a week earlier and was still well behind a five-year average of 51%, FranceAgriMer said. The good/excellent rating for spring barley, for which sowing is now complete, jumped to 73% from 63% but remained well below the 94% average.