Agency MARS again lowered the forecasts of corn and sunflower yields in the EU

Crop monitoring service MARS lowered its average EU corn and sunflower yield forecasts in its September report, but raised its forecast for soybean and sugar beet yields. Yield estimates were lowered for Central and Eastern Europe, while those for Western regions were raised.

The heat in the south-central and eastern regions of Europe had a negative effect on the accumulation of biomass and shortened the grain filling period. In Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary, Slovakia and Austria, the situation was worsened by a prolonged lack of precipitation. Dry weather also reduced corn yields in Poland, Lithuania and northeastern Germany.

The long-term deficit of precipitation in the east of Ukraine, the south of the Russian Federation and in Belarus negatively affected the yield of agricultural crops, especially sunflower and corn for grain.

In September, the heat was replaced by cool weather with storms and downpours that led to flooding in Central Europe. But it is still difficult to assess the consequences of bad weather for the harvest in these regions.

Compared to the August estimates, the European Commission lowered the yield forecasts:

• corn - from 7.03 to 6.84 t/ha (7.5% less than the average 5-year indicator),
• sunflower – from 2.04 to 1.98 t/ha (-8.6%).

At the same time, favorable weather in Western Europe made it possible to increase the yield forecasts of the crops grown there:

• sugar beets - from 73.4 to 74.7 t/ha (by 2.2% it will exceed the average 5-year indicator),
• soybeans - from 2.75 to 2.81 t/ha (+2.9%).