French consultancy Agritel estimated on Tuesday that the common wheat harvest in France, the European Union’s biggest wheat producer, will shrink 5.6% this year to 33.44 million tonnes. , after adverse weather has reduced yields in most of the country.
Agritel’s estimate, based on a survey of agents in the sector between July 18 and 22, is slightly above its initial forecast of 33.25 million tons and well above the projection of the French Ministry of Agriculture earlier this month of a 2022 soft wheat crop of 32.90 million tonnes.
Prospects for a smaller French wheat crop come at a time when global supplies are already tight following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, one of the world’s largest grain exporters, and as fears mount of a great world food crisis.