EU & UK: European barley crop situation seen as generally positive

In most cases rain is always welcomed for grain crops, and that remains the case; however, current conditions across Europe are on the wet side, RMI Analytics reported earlier this month.

Two concerns that could develop further from the wetness are delays in spring barley planting and increased disease presence in winter barley.

Otherwise, crop conditions in in France and the UK are good at present but warmer weather and sunshine are needed to ensure crop development remains on a good projectory, the analysts said.

RMI Analytics’ EU27+UK crop 2023 forecast is up slightly to 58.88 mln tonnes due mainly to a ‘rain makes grain’ viewpoint, and the very good crop ratings as we enter the month of May.

The European crop situation is generally positive and more rain is forecast, which bears watching, but temperatures are forecast to warm up which would help and, in fact, lead to very good crop development during May. In regions where spring planting is delayed, there might be some elevated risk to quality and yield and the next 6-8 weeks are critical to the final crop outcome.

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