Rain-hit crops create triple whammy for French grain farmers

Jean Lefevre like lots of French farmers has actually simply endured one of the worst wheat harvests in decades as rain hardly stopped from the moment he started sowing his grain last October to when he began gathering the crop last month.

France, the European Union's biggest grain manufacturer, has experienced especially damp weather in the past year, including a month of continuous rain in October-November, the wettest spring ever and storms last month.

The rainy weather condition and soaked fields postponed sowings and hurt crop advancement, so much so that the farm ministry quotes France will gather its worst wheat crop since the 1980s, down 25% from in 2015. Other cereals like winter barley have likewise been badly struck.

Since October we have actually had our feet in the water. We have sown in very complex conditions, and today we are still gathering in damp soil once again. I have neighbours who got stuck with their harvesters or with their trailers, stated Lefevre, 43, who farms in the Oise region of northern France.

Wheat is the most commonly grown cereal in France, with about half of it exported either within or outside the EU, assisting the country's trade balance, even if France has actually faced stiff competitors from Black Sea countries in recent years.

Being a gamer on the world market, however, exposes France to swings in international prices. While farmers might have wanted to see regional costs rise in the face of tight products, they really stayed pressured by a global grain glut linked to hefty crops in major manufacturers such as competitor Russia.

SIMULTANEOUSLY

Rising production expenses since the pandemic - consisting of for devices, fertilizers and leasing land - have been another problem, which together with low crop volumes and depressed prices present a triple whammy for farmers.

It's all at once, devastating crops, low prices and expenses that have actually never been as high, stated Laurent Pollet, who grows crops on 200 hectares of land in the Oise region.

Many farmers expressed disappointment that the crisis comes as France just has a caretaker government since parliamentary elections last month called by President Emmanuel Macron.

When both crops and prices are bad, results are devastating. Some individuals will need mental assistance and most of us will require financial support, Lefevre said.

But without a federal government, it's really complicated. We were already speaking with a wall, now we are speaking with the wind.

Lefevre signed up with thousands of farmers who opposed earlier this year, obstructing significant highways around Paris, stating they were not paid enough and were choked by excessive policy on environmental protection.

Wheat growers say the grain crisis is not likely to trigger new protests, primarily because they do not have time.

We are collecting, rapeseed sowing begins in 10 days, then we move on to wheat sowing, we have the beet harvest from mid-September, we are in a tunnel up until Nov. 15. So going back to the street is not a goal, stated Emeric Duchesne, another grain grower in the Oise.

(source: Reuters)