MARS warns of significant risks to crops in Romania, Bulgaria, Ukraine and the Russian Federation

Cereal crops in Europe are generally in good condition as recent rains have revived them after a dry start to autumn. However, cereal crops in the Black Sea countries do not have enough to last until winter, the EU's crop monitoring service ( MARS ) said on Monday.

According to MARS , dry weather in Western Europe allowed farmers to complete sowing, albeit with a delay, while in Central and Northern Europe, rains significantly replenished soil moisture reserves, and a slight cooling had almost no impact on crops.

At the same time, in the Black Sea countries - Romania, Bulgaria, Ukraine and the Russian Federation - there are significant risks to crops. Sowing winter wheat in a very dry soil layer has slowed down the development of crops, so they remain underdeveloped and in poor condition.

Forecasts of a decline in the wheat harvest in the Russian Federation, the world's largest wheat exporter, are forcing the country's authorities to limit exports.

In other European countries, especially Poland and the Baltic states, crops have also been underprepared for winter. However, severe cold is not expected there in the coming days, and long-term forecasts predict above-normal temperatures in Europe this winter.

In Sicily, an important durum wheat growing region, there is still a shortage of soil moisture, despite recent rains that have allowed sowing to continue.

MARS estimates that crops in Mediterranean countries urgently need rainfall to thrive, especially in western Algeria and Morocco.