Smallest French Corn Crop Since 1990 Shows Drought’s Huge Toll

Megan Durisin
Tue, September 13, 2022 



(Bloomberg) -- French farmers are collecting their smallest corn crop in more than three decades, highlighting the massive toll that summer drought has wrought on Europe’s food supplies.

Heat and dryness gripped much of the continent throughout summer, in what may be its worst drought in at least 500 years. That’s been particularly brutal for farmers, who are already dipping into winter forage reserves to feed cattle as pastures wither and who face shrinking output of everything from potatoes to sugar.

The corn harvest has just kicked off in France, one of Europe’s agricultural heavyweights. The country’s production of the staple grain used to feed chickens and pigs will fall 25% to 11.6 million tons, the lowest since 1990, its agriculture ministry said Tuesday. The adverse weather has reduced harvests of almost all crops from last year, apart from oilseeds, the report showed.

“No region is spared from the drop in yield,” the French ministry said of corn.

The smaller crops threaten to keep food prices high. Consumer food costs in July already jumped 12% from last year in the European Union and even more in the UK. The bloc is importing corn from nations like Ukraine to help ease the shortfall, although sales from the war-torn country are expected to fall by half versus the prior season.

Fields in Germany and Romania, other key EU producers, also suffered from drought. Plus, producers are grappling with spiraling costs of fertilizer and gas, which is used to dry crops like corn after they’re harvested.

Still, rains have picked up this month, according to forecaster Maxar. That should improve conditions for winter-wheat planting that is now underway.

French corn futures were little changed near the highest in almost three weeks on Tuesday.