A comment from Scott Wellcome, Director Grain Risk Management & Sourcing, GoodMills Group.
As of late August, the 2024 European wheat harvest is complete for most countries. In summary, the 2024 European wheat harvest can only be described in one word: “Challenging”.
Total wheat production in the EU-28 is projected to reach around 135 million tonnes, a decrease from the 147 million tonnes harvested in 2023.
This reduction can be largely attributed to adverse weather conditions, particularly record rainfall in late 2023, which negatively impacted winter wheat sowing across key producing countries like France, Germany, the UK, the Baltic states, and Poland.
The combination of an estimated 4% drop in average wheat yield across Europe alongside a near 5% reduction in total area planted were the main contributing factors to the overall lower wheat production.
The 2024 European wheat harvest has also faced significant quality challenges due to the unfavourable and varied weather conditions experienced across the continent.
A notably wet spring and summer caused delays in harvesting and adversely affected the wheat’s development in western Europe, whilst central and eastern Europe suffered from a lack of moisture that impacted grain fill.
These weather conditions led to significant drops in wheat quality, with lower protein levels and test weights being reported.
However, thanks to the continued investment by the group in state-of-the-art testing equipment, combined with the dedication and knowledge of the men and women working in our various intake locations and sampling and testing facilities, we remain fully confident that we will continue to delivery the highest quality end products to our customers that they have come to expect from GoodMills.
This challenging season underscores the vulnerability of agricultural production to weather extremes, highlighting the importance of adaptive strategies and technologies in maintaining quality and yield.
