Recent rains have worsened the outlook for wheat and barley production in France

Recent rains have worsened the outlook for wheat and barley production in France, the EU's largest grain producer, and also slowed corn planting, Reuters reported, citing data from FranceAgriMer.

The condition of French soft wheat crops deteriorated slightly last week and remained at its worst in 4 years. According to FranceAgriMer, by May 20, about 63% of bread wheat crops were in good or excellent condition, compared with 64% a week earlier and 93% last year.

The good/excellent rating for durum wheat used in pasta production fell to 64%. In barley, winter barley's rating remained unchanged for the week at 66%, while spring barley's rating fell to 73% from 74%.

Farmers planted 78% of their expected corn acreage, up from 73% the week before. This lags significantly behind last year's progress (93%) and the five-year average (96%).