The French agriculture ministry has announced that the country is set to experience “one of the worst” wheat harvests in four decades.
Authorities estimate that this year’s harvest could be between 10 and 16 per cent lower than in 2023, representing a loss of 10 million tonnes of wheat.
These projections suggest that the 2024 wheat harvest across France could be considered “catastrophic”.
According to Agreste, the ministry’s statistical agency, French farmers have harvested 26.3 million tonnes of wheat so far this year, down from 35.1 million tonnes in 2023.
Such low figures have not been seen since the 1980s. France could record its lowest production since 1987, when it produced just 25.8 million tonnes of wheat, according to data provided by the agriculture ministry.
Figures released on August 9 showed that “soft wheat” production was estimated at 26.3 million tonnes (Mt). Barley production sits at 10.4 Mt — 7.2 Mt of winter barley and 3.2 Mt of spring barley.
Durum wheat production was forecast to be 1.2 Mt.
Arnaud Rousseau, a field crop producer and President of the FNSEA farmers’ union said 2024 was shaping up to be a “black year”, in an interview with FranceInfo.
“The harvest has been catastrophic, the worst in 40 years. This is the first time that France, one of the world’s major wheat-producing countries, has produced so little domestically,” he said.
? Replay radio | ?@rousseautrocy Président de la #FNSEA, était le Grand Témoin de @franceinfo pour évoquer la baisse historique des récoltes de #blé tendre cette année et alerter les pouvoirs publics sur les risques qui pèsent sur la #FermeFrance.
? "Les moissons sont… pic.twitter.com/FIzSiHq9z5
— La FNSEA (@FNSEA) August 7, 2024
Rousseau urged the government to take action and use EU funding to support farmers through the challenging period.
“In these very difficult times, we need Europe to help us,” he said.
“Crisis envelopes exist and we have asked the Minister of Agriculture to activate them quickly.
“The immediate challenge for farmers is to be able to sow next autumn,” he warned.
The decline in production is partly due to climatic conditions, according to Agreste.
Last year, France experienced a wet winter and a lack of sunshine during the summer, which negatively affected agricultural field crops.
France is the European Union’s leading producer and exporter of wheat.
In 2023, it exported 14.6 Mt, which accounted for 30 per cent of the European total.
According to an estimate by the agriculture ministry, cereal producers are not the only ones likely to have a bad year.
The outlook for the 2024 wine harvest is similarly bleak.
According to an initial estimate from the agriculture ministry, the crop is expected to be down in almost all grape-growing regions due to diseases exacerbated by damp conditions, as well as frost and hail.
