HAMBURG: Germany’s 2021 wheat crop of all types is expected to increase by 3.8% on the year to 22.98 million tonnes as recent good weather helped crops, the country’s association of farm cooperatives said on Tuesday.

The association in its latest harvest forecast said Germany’s 2021 winter rapeseed crop will rise 4.6% from last summer’s crop to 3.67 million tonnes.

This was up from its previous harvest forecast in May when the association had forecast a wheat crop of 22.66 million tonnes and a winter rapeseed crop of 3.62 million tonnes.

Germany’s wheat, grains and rapeseed suffered slower growth in cool spring weather but the warmer June has enabled crops to catch up, the association said.

In May, crops were about two to three weeks behind normal development but are now only about one week to 10 days behind normal growth, it said.

Germany is the European Union’s second largest wheat producer after France and in many years the EU’s largest producer of rapeseed, Europe’s main oilseed for edible oil and biodiesel production.

The harvest result will still depend on the weather in coming weeks, the association said.

This year’s German grain harvest will start as usual with winter barley with work expected to start in the first days of July, about a week later than average, it said.

Germany’s winter barley crop, mostly used for animal feed, will increase 2.2% on the year to 9.03 million tonnes despite a reduced planted area with yields expected to be positive, the association said.—Reuters