French wheat conditions best in many years

Earlier worries about the 2023-24 French soft wheat crop have dissipated following recent rainfall, with the percentage of acreages rated "excellent" at their highest since the 2017-18 season, according to agricultural and sea products agency FranceAgriMer.

And conditions could further improve as next week's prospects also look favourable to the crops — rainfall in central and northern France is set to provide sufficient moisture for wheat and barley development, according to state meteorological agency MeteoFrance.

FranceAgriMer rated 5pc of French soft wheat areas as "excellent" as of 12 March, up by one percentage point (pp) on the week and by three pp on the year.

FranceAgriMer rated 95pc of the crop as "good-to-excellent", in line with week-ago levels but an improvement from last season's 92pc.

And development is advancing faster than last season, with just over a third of the crop having reached the "ear-at-1cm" stage as of 12 March on average nationally, ahead of last season by 22pp. In the northern Hauts-de-France region — accounting for over 20pc of French soft wheat output — 15pc of crop was reported at the "ear-at-1cm" stage, compared with just 2pc a year ago.

Durum wheat

French durum wheat crop conditions also improved in the week ending 12 March, with 11pc of areas now rated "excellent" and 92pc "good-to-excellent" — the latter rating representing a one pp improvement on the week and four pp on the year.

Barley

French winter barley crop conditions were also stable on the week, with 92pc of the crop rated "good-to-excellent" compared with 89pc a year ago. But development is slightly lagging last season's pace by one pp, with 8pc of areas having reached the "ear-at-1cm" stage as of 12 March. This is, however, in line with the previous five-year pace.

By Anna Sneidermane

French soft wheat crop conditions %

French soft wheat areas at %