04/08/2010 (Agence Europe) - On Wednesday 4 August, the European Commission published yield forecasts for the main crops in the European Union and indications of the regions most affected by extreme climate conditions. According to these estimates, the total volume of cereal production in the EU in 2010 is expected to be close to the past five-year average. Despite per hectare yield of 5% above the average 5%, the total surface area on which crops are grown, has, nonetheless, declined. The agricultural season has been characterised by sporadic and unusual weather phenomena, such as seriously low rainfall and floods but the negative impact of weather conditions on crops in certain EU regions has been compensated by other regions. Forecasts are available at: http://www.mars.jrc.ec.europa.eu/mars/About-us/AGRI4CAST . (A.B.)