Brussels, 19/07/2005 (Agence Europe) - According to the European Commission' s detailed scientific analyses, the cereal production for 2005 will be at least 28 million tonnes lower than last year's record levels, at a level some 10% lower. However, the total cereal harvest in the EU will remain close to the average of the last five years. The main cause for this reduction is the drought and its impact upon crop yields. This has been particularly the case in Spain, Portugal, France, Italy and central Greece. Very high temperatures and low rainfall have led to reduced crop irrigation which, if it continues, may have devastating consequences on the production of maize, sugar beet and potatoes. According to estimations, cereal production at Community level may even fall 24% for durum wheat, 5.2% for common wheat, 10% for barley and 6% for maize compared to 2004 figures. For purposes of comparison, fewer regions are currently affected by drought than in the extreme drought of 2003. Nonetheless, the situation in certain areas is considerably more worrying than in 2003 (such as the Iberian peninsula or in western France), due partly to the fact that the current period of drought is very long, as the first signs were seen as long ago as November 2004. This 2005 drought is similar to that of 1976- a year which was considered to be one of the worst ever for agriculture in Europe- which also started very early.