EU Soft-Wheat Crop to Climb 3.5% in 2011, Coceral Estimates

The European Union wheat crop is expected to increase 3.5 percent this year, higher performance lift output in Germany and the United Kingdom, cereals and industry lobby COCERAL said.
The harvest is estimated at 131.4 million metric tons in 2011, compared to 127.1 million tons last year, the Brussels-based group said. The block of the cereal harvest was generally advancing 3.7 percent to 284.7 million tons, he predicted.
COCERAL prospects compared with the forecast last week by the farm group Copa-Cogeca for a wheat crop of 129.7 million tonnes and the European Commission forecast in January to a harvest of 131.9 million tonnes . The EU is the world's largest wheat-growing region.
sowing of wheat was increased to 23.3 million hectares (57.6 million acres) of 23 million hectares in the previous year, with the EU average yield of up to 5.64 tonnes per hectare of 5.52 tonnes, based on the forecast COCERAL.
Wheat production in France, the largest producer and exporter of EU's second largest, will advance to 36.4 million tonnes from 35.7 million tons, the group estimates.
Germany's harvest of grain will rise to 24.4 million tonnes from 23.3 million tonnes, while UK farmers harvested 15.5 million tonnes of wheat, compared with 14.4 million tonnes in 2010, COCERAL forecast.
EU production of durum wheat, hard variety used to make pasta and couscous, then slid 8.27 million tonnes from 8.6 million tonnes, COCERAL he said. Barley production will rise to 54.5 million tonnes from 52.9 million tonnes.
The 2011 maize crop in the EU is forecast to climb to 59.2 million tonnes from 55.1 million tonnes in major crops in France, Italy, Hungary and Romania, according to the group.

(Source: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-03-28/eu-soft-wheat-crop-to-climb-3-5-in-2011-coceral-estimates-1-.html)