UK: Barley production likely down 7.9% this year

The first official estimates for the 2018 cereals harvest in the UK show wheat production fell by 5.1pc in 2018 – and barley by 7.9pc – due to the hot, dry summer, the Eastern Daily Press reported on October 8.

Defra’s initial figures, which are subject to revisions as further harvest results are received and analysed, give a provisional 2018 wheat harvest of 14.1 million tonnes for the UK, a decrease of 5.1pc from 2017 when the figure was 14.8 mln tonnes. It is below the five-year average of 14.8 mln tonnes.

The provisional barley production figure also fell – by 7.9pc to 6.6 mln tonnes in 2018 – and is also below the five-year average of 7.0 mln tonnes.

Defra’s report says: “Crop production has been affected by the weather this year (high rainfall in spring and a long dry spell with high temperatures in the summer) causing varying yields across regions of the UK.”

Full provisional results for the UK harvest – including yield and area data for wheat and barley along with results for the remaining cereal and oilseed rape crops – are due to be published later this week, with the final results expected in December.

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