Czech Wheat Crop Revised Up
In line with just about every other country in the world, the Czech Statistical Office have revised their 2009 wheat production estimate for the country up from 4.1 MMT to 4.4 MMT, following better than expected yields.
This season's barley crop is also revised up from 1.9 MMT to 2.1 MMT, and rapeseed output from 1.0 MMT to 1.1 MMT.
Czech Wheat Harvest Seen 10 Pct Lower
The Czech wheat harvest for 2009/10 is seen at 4.2 MMT, down 10% from 4.7 MMT last season, according to the Czech Statistical Office.
Winter wheat yields are seen at 5.07 MT/ha, 14% down on last year's 5.88 MT/ha.
The total grain harvest this year will be 6.7 MMT, down 10.4% on last year's 7.5 MMT, they say.
Rapeseed production is seen at 1 MMT, 4.6% down on last year.
Despite lower production than last year, this season's output is in line with the average for the last five years, they add.
Czech out the full report for yourself here
Czech Grain Harvest Seen 11.7 Pct Lower
The Czech Statistical Office says that grain production in the country in 2009 will fall 11.7% on last year to 6.622 MMT.
This decrease is caused by both lower sowing areas of basic cereals and lower yields, they say. Forthcoming harvest has also been influenced by the weather, a cold May followed by a June with high precipitation. In comparison with last year it is worth taking into account that the years 2008 and 2004 were the most productive in the history of the Czech Republic, they add.
Winter wheat production, which accounts for 31.2% of planted area, is seen down 10.9% at 3.984 MMT, despite the sown area of winter wheat increasing by 33 thousand ha in comparison with 2008. Lower yields of 5.02 MT/ha are expected, down 0.86 MT/ha on 2008, are responsible for the expected decrease.
Production of spring barley which accounts for 12.6 % of total planted area of agricultural crops, is estimated in an amount of 1.334 MMT, down by 250,000 MT or 15,8% on 2008.
Spring wheat production this year should reach 147,000 MT, they say.
Production of rape (which accounts for 13.9% of total sown area) is expected at 997,000 MT, 5% lower than in 2008.
Czech Grain Harvest To Be Above Average
(CTK) -- Grain harvest in the Czech Republic will be above-average this year - at between 7.2 million and 7.5 million tonnes, compared with 2007's 7.153 million tonnes, according to Czech Agricultural Chamber estimates.
Owing to the high demand, prices can hardly be expected to fall. Grain prices in some cases even doubled last year against 2006, Josef Kubis of the Chamber said.
The good harvest expected this year can be ascribed to favourable weather and a larger crop area.
A better harvest is expected in the whole of the EU which after last year's dramatic growth in grain prices suspended the validity of a regulation saying that part of farmland be left fallow.
Czech farmers thus raised the winter cereals area by 2.3 percent, or 22,000 hectares, of land. Winter rape area increased by 7.3 percent (+24,000 hectares).
According to Czech Statistical Office (CSU) data, cereals were grown on 1.58 million hectares of land in the Czech Republic last year, and 337,600 hectares were planted with rape.
