Cereal crops and other commodities including olives and tomatoes hit by Europe’s heatwave
Cereal production in southern Europe is expected to fall by up to 60% on last year, with 2023 harvest set to be its lowest since 2007 – at 256 million tonnes, some 9.5% lower than the five-year average of 283 million tonnes, European farming organisation Copa Cogeca said last week.
Highlights
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Harvests in Portugal, Spain and Italy, where temperatures have regularly topped 40°C in July, are expected to be hardest hit by the heatwave.
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However, many market sources now believe tomato volume forecasts for 2023 are “unlikely to be reached” due to the heatwave, late plantings and drought earlier in the year, he warned.