Heat wave causes millions of dollars in losses to European cereal harvest

The heat wave recorded in Europe during June generated losses valued between two thousand and two thousand three hundred million euros and, according to the analysis center ECIU quoted by the Financial Times newspaper, the impact corresponds to almost nine million tons of cereals that could not be recovered.

The report points out that the decline represents about 5% of the expected value for the harvest of that period and, among the countries affected, France accumulated about half of the total with a reduction of 4.1 million tons, while Hungary ranked second with 2.4 million tons less, according to RT.

High temperatures affected wheat in its critical growth phase in regions of central and southern France, southern Germany, Austria, Poland and Hungary and, in addition, spring barley registered significant damage, making June the hottest month in Western Europe, with three degrees Celsius above the average for the period 1991-2020 and with records above 43 degrees in France.

Approximately half of the reduction in the harvest came from corn destined to feed livestock and, given this scenario, an increase in demand for imports from countries such as Ukraine or Brazil is expected, which could put pressure on agricultural markets.

Analysts warn that the economic impact will fall on farmers and that it could also compromise food security on the continent, so they recommend monitoring climate change and its effects on European agricultural production.