PARIS: Ratings of French soft wheat fell again last week to hit another eight-year low with now only half of the crop in good condition, while harvesting remained well behind average as wet weather throughout the cycle continued to weigh on crops.

An estimated 50% of soft wheat was in good or excellent condition by July 22, down from 52% a week earlier and 78% a year ago, farm office FranceAgriMer said in cereal crop data.

This is below the score at the same point in 2020, another year marked by heavy rain, and the weakest reading since 2016 when France reaped its smallest wheat crop since the 1980s and ratings stood at 40% by the same time of the year.

Months of heavy rain and below-average sunshine have disrupted planting and crop development in the European Union’s biggest grain producer.

“We’re experiencing another 2016, with yields well below the five-year average,” said Francois Pignolet, head of crop procurement at Soufflet Agriculture, part of agri-food group InVivo, said in a harvest update on Friday.

He did not give specific indications on soft wheat yields for Soufflet’s supply network. Regarding wheat quality, the company was observing low average test weights of around 75 kilos per hectolitre, which could post problems for delivery against Euronext futures that have a requirement of 76 kg/hl minimum, he said.

Protein content was running at 11-11.5% while the crop was showing an absence of mycotoxins, he added.