On 30 August, the European Commission gave an assurance to the members of the European Parliament’s Agriculture Committee that the EU grain harvest would be sufficient.
According to estimates, the Commission is forecasting a 2.4% increase in EU grain production in 2023/2024, to 271 million tonnes (t) (see EUROPE 13224/10).
However, this level of cereal production remains 3% below the five-year average, acknowledged Pierre Bascou, Deputy Director-General of the Commission’s Directorate-General for Agriculture (DG AGRI).
Wheat production is expected to be around 126 million tonnes. However, due to recent heavy rainfall, harvests have had to be postponed in some EU countries, and concerns have been expressed about a drop in quality. “We expect some of the wheat production to be of lower quality”, said Pierre Bascou.
For maize, production is forecast at 62 million tonnes, up 18% on last year, which was a disaster.
Grain prices in the EU have been falling over the last 12 months, to levels seen before the start of the war in Ukraine.
The Commission has assured us that it is working on the availability of stocks. Pierre Bascou reminded the meeting that EU countries were required to inform the Commission on a monthly basis of the stock situation: “Unfortunately, not all Member States comply with these requirements. So we don’t have a complete assessment of stocks”, he regretted.
The Commission has assured that “we have enough wheat. Wheat reserves in the EU stand at around 20 million tonnes, 5 million tonnes more than last year”.
There is no need to worry about the availability of wheat and cereals in general, the Commission concluded. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)