French crop conditions were stable to slightly worse in the week to July 24, as the harvest of winter crops continued to advance, according to a weekly report by farm agency FranceAgriMer Friday.
Some 78% of the soft wheat crop was rated good to very good, down from 80% the previous week and compared with 63% in 2022.
The wheat harvest advanced by 24 percentage points to 83% complete as of July 24, behind last year’s 94% but ahead of the five-year average of 75%.
On average the harvest is three days behind last year and two days ahead of the five-year average.
Barley and durum wheat crops
The percentage of the winter barley crop considered good to very good meanwhile stable at 80%, which is also well above the 62% seen this time last year.
Harvest work on winter barley is now complete, on par with last year and ahead of the five-year average of 98%.
Durum wheat conditions were also stable at 67% good to very good, compared with 55% seen this time last year.
The durum harvest progressed by 10 percentage points to 99% complete, on par with last year and ahead of the five-year average of 93%.
Spring barley conditions were stable at 73% rated as good to very good, compared with the 48% recorded at the same point in 2022.
The spring barley harvest progressed by 22 percentage points to 91% complete, just ahead of last year’s pace of 90% and the five-year average of 65%.
Corn crop
Finally, corn crop conditions deteriorated slightly to 81% in good to very good state from 82% last week, compared with 68% in 2022.
Corn development remains about a week behind last year’s rate and is on par with the five-year average.
France is one of the biggest exporters of wheat and corn in the European Union, with wheat exports of 10.13 million mt recorded between July 1, 2022 and July 3, 2023, according to the European Commission.
