Grain harvest expected to decrease while rapeseed rises

The harvest of staple crops such as wheat, barley, oats and rye is expected to be lower this year compared to last, according to initial estimates by the Czech Statistical Office. The harvest is estimated to fall by 8.1 percent to 6.955 million tons, mostly because of a decrease of 4.4 percent in yield to 5.57 tons per hectare, and partly due to a decrease in the amount of land used to grow cereals, which fell by 3.9 percent to 1.249 million hectares.

Meanwhile, rapeseed production is expected to rise by 4.9 per cent year-on-year to 1.223 million tons. The amount of land used to grow rapeseed expanded by 10.5 percent to 380,000 hectares, so even with a 5.1 per cent lower year-on-year expected yield of 3.22 tons per hectare, the overall harvest is still estimated to be higher.