LONDON, July 22. /TASS/. The extreme heat wave that swept across Europe in June reduced the value of the region’s grain harvest by more than 2 bln euros, with France and Hungary suffering the greatest losses, the Financial Times (FT) reported, citing data from the European grain traders’ association Coceral.
According to the data, grain production forecasts for the European Union and the United Kingdom were cut by nearly 9 mln metric tons in the four weeks following the onset of the heat wave. Experts estimated crop losses at approximately 2.1 bln euros, based on national prices for wheat, barley, corn, and other grains, representing about 5% of the projected value of the harvest, the FT reported. The corn harvest forecast for the EU and the UK was lowered from 57.2 mln metric tons to 52.7 mln metric tons.
France accounted for nearly half of the total grain harvest losses. The country’s production forecast was reduced by 4.1 mln metric tons, equivalent to about 891 mln euros, with corn accounting for most of the losses. Hungary ranked second, with its grain harvest forecast cut by 2.4 mln metric tons, valued at approximately 444 mln euros. Spain’s losses amounted to 1.4 mln metric tons (276 mln euros), while Germany recorded losses of the same volume, valued at 233 mln euros.
Europe experienced exceptionally hot weather in the second half of June, with temperatures exceeding 40 degrees Celsius in parts of Western Europe. On July 9, the Copernicus Earth observation and mapping service confirmed that this past June was the hottest on record, with an average near-surface air temperature of 20.74 degrees Celsius.