The rapeseed harvest in France could shrink by 19 percent this year to a 7-year low of 4.4 million tonnes after a difficult growing season marked by adverse weather and attacks from crop pests, grains consultancy Agritel said on Friday. Production of rapeseed, which is used to make edible oil and as a component in biodiesel fuel, had been widely expected to fall sharply in France from last year's 5.5 million tonnes, in a similar trend to that in Britain.
Agritel's outlook for France was below a range of 4.5 million to 4.8 million tonnes cited by traders this week. Rapeseed plants were hampered by dry conditions at sowing time, followed by a very wet winter and then cool, damp conditions during much of spring so far. The unfavourable weather left crops vulnerable to pests, Agritel said, noting rapeseed had also faced a new threat from pigeons that were no longer migrating south in winter.
The firm's forecast was based on an estimated area of 1.45 million hectares and a projected average yield of 3.06 tonnes per hectare, both down about 10 percent on last year. The expected area to be harvested this summer was down nearly 13 percent on an estimated 1.66 million hectares initially sown before farmers later dug up some struggling crops, Agritel said.
Area and yield declines would be most important in the north-eastern region Lorraine and parts of central and western France, but nearly all the country was expected to see decreases, Agritel said. The rapeseed area is expected to recover next year to 1.58 million hectares, but would remain shy of the area initially sown for 2013, partly because this season's difficult growing conditions would discourage some farmers, Agritel added.