EU spring crops yield reduced amid ongoing drought conditions: MARS

The EU’s crop monitoring service has substantially reduced its expectations for the bloc's 2022 spring crops, amid continued drier-than-usual conditions across large parts of the continent, while winter crops – which are reaching the end of the season – were subject to minor changes at the EU level and remain close to the 5-year average, a monthly update said Monday.

The July report published by Monitoring Agriculture Resources (MARS) showed that hot temperatures continued to have an adverse impact across the region's key growing regions. 

At an EU level, 2022 yield forecasts for corn, sunflowers, and soybeans are expected to reduce by 8 to 9%, below the 5-year average. 

Negative impacts on the yield potential of spring crops are most pronounced in regions, such as large parts of Spain, southern France, central and northern Italy, central Germany, northern Romania, eastern Hungary, and western and southern Ukraine.

In many of those regions, the negative impacts of such extreme heat (the highest temperatures since at least 1990) weather events were exacerbated by lower-than-usual soil water content due to below-average rainfall or above-average temperatures in preceding months.

Water reservoirs are at a very low level and the availability of water for irrigation is insufficient to sustain spring crop demand.

Moreover, the high temperatures currently observed, and forecast until the end of July, are likely to affect crops in the flowering stage, thus reducing flower fertility.

The report noted that there is little that can be now done to reverse the impact, as hot, dry conditions continue to dominate. 

However, particularly favorable conditions for crops prevailed in the Baltic Sea region.

Yield forecasts July 22

(Source: MARS)