Wheat prices reached their highest level in nearly three years on the London futures market because of fears that dry weather threatens the summer harvest, said Agrimoney. The group quoted the consulting company Agritel, based in Paris, as saying “dry conditions [are] in place in a good part of Europe.”
“On a climatic point of view, we record now a multi-months’ rain deficit of about 30 to 50 percent in France, depending on the region. The same trend is observed in other parts of Europe at varying degrees,” said Agritel. France is the leading wheat producer in the EU, as well as being the bloc’s largest overall grains producer. The EU grows one-fifth of the world’s wheat.
Strategie Grains, an analyst, predicts EU wheat production will rise by 6 percent from 2016, though it has slightly trimmed its outlook for this year’s crop. “Without more rain, the current good harvest outlooks could quickly alter in the event of a prolonged dry spell.” Forecasts of a strong wheat export market point to a tightening of wheat supplies in the year ahead, said London-based Agrimoney.
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