Browse Data and Analysis

EU grain production in MY 2024/25 is expected to decline from last year’s levels due to a combination of smaller area planted to grains and lower yields affecting all grains except for barley and oats.

Zimbabwe’s production of its staple crop, corn, is expected to drop by almost 60 percent in marketing year 2024/25 due to extreme drought conditions associated with the El Niño weather phenomenon.

In MY 2024/25, EU grain production is anticipated to exceed the previous season’s levels and amount to 274 MMT. Excessive rain currently prevails in the EU’s northwest, hampering winter grains development and impeding spring planting operations.

Extreme weather conditions across the EU reduced grain production projections in MY 2023/24, although production is still anticipated to exceed MY 2022/23 levels. EU grain export expectations have deteriorated based on third country competition in...

Weather conditions ranging from excessive heat to cooler than average temperatures, and from drought to excessive moisture, have curbed MY 2023/24 EU winter grain production expectations.

Zimbabwe’s corn crop for marketing year 2023/24 is estimated at 1.5 million metric tons. This represents an increase of five percent from the previous marketing year’s crop, mainly due to a normal rainfall season in the northern parts of the country.

In MY 2023/24, EU’s grain production is anticipated to reach 285 MMT, up from the 267 MMT registered the previous season, when a severe drought pushed yields down. Favorable initial crop development conditions are reported across the EU, although spring rains in the EU’s southwest will be critical to replenish soil moisture and allow for yields to bounce back to average levels.

Warm and dry summer conditions have taken a toll on EU grain production projections, especially in the case of corn. On a positive note, a surge in corn imports originating from Brazil and Ukraine, with the recent four-month extension of the Black Sea Grain Initiative, have increased predictability of the EU grain market balance.

FY2022 agricultural exports reach record levels.

On June 29, 2022, the European Commission (EC) approved one genetically engineered (GE) crop (maize) for food and animal feed. The authorization was published in the European Union’s Official Journal on July 1, 2022 and remains valid for 10 years.

Zimbabwe’s corn crop for marketing year (MY) 2022/23 is estimated at 1.6 million metric tons (MMT), representing a drop of 43 percent from the bumper crop of 2.7 MMT produced in MY 2021/22. Many factors contributed to the drop in production including sub-optimal weather conditions, high input costs and macro-economic challenges.

On May 19, 2022, the European Commission (EC) approved two genetically engineered (GE) crops (1 soybean and 1 corn/maize) for food and animal feed. The two authorizations were published in the European Union’s Official Journal on May 20, 2022, and they remain valid for 10 years.