Heat and drought are taxing crop production in European countries this year. In Italy, the situation is particularly difficult: the country is suffering from the worst drought in 70 years.
The heat and drought plaguing Europe will tax the harvest season this year. In Italy, farmers are worried about crop prospects because the northern parts of the country are suffering from the worst drought in 70 years, says STT.
The River Pojoki, which is important to Italy, has also partially dried up, and in some places you can cross the riverbed on foot. There is a lot of agriculture and livestock farms along the river.
According to STT, Italy’s largest agricultural organization Coldiretti has estimated that a third of the entire Italian agricultural production will be threatened by drought this year.
– The situation in Italy is really bad. The winter was weaker there too: Last winter there was less snow in the Alps, so the amount of water in the valleys and rivers basically remained smaller, says MTK’s grain agent Max Schulman To .
Italy will probably have to rely more on imported grain than before.
– There is a growing concern about which grain to feed domestic animals and people. Italy will probably have to import food grain into the country when its own production is not enough for this harvest season, Schulman sums up.
Heat and drought also plague Portugal and Spain, for example. In addition, the heat has had a shrinking effect on the grain crops in Hungary, Bulgaria and Romania. Last year, the grain harvests of these countries were abundant. So far, Poland and the Baltic countries have survived the drought better than other countries.
– Drought and heat reduce crop prospects in the entire EU region. The drought now has the greatest impact on growing fodder crops, i.e. corn, the main crop in Europe. The corn suffers from the intense heat, says Schulman.
There are no exact statistics on harvest amounts yet, but grain harvesting is already underway in Southern and Central Europe. In France, last spring’s heat and drought have taxed the harvest.
– In France, which is a major grain producer in Europe, the spring drought has had a shrinking effect on the harvest. In France, a significant drop in grain production is expected compared to the previous year, says the research professor Jyrki Niemi From the Natural Resources Center.
The grain market was already unstable
The situation keeps the grain market on its toes.
– The heat in Europe came at a bad time, because the grain market is already unstable due to the situation in Ukraine, Jyrki Niemi sums up.
According to Nieme, a rich grain harvest is being sent to Russia at the moment.
– However, not all countries want to buy Russian grain in this world situation. On the other hand, since there is a scarcity of grain on the market and some countries are completely dependent on imported grain, at that stage it is not necessary to ask about the country of origin.
Russia has and has had an export duty on grain since last fall. In that sense, according to Schulman, the food market has played a tough game.
– Until Russia’s grain is harvested, I wouldn’t trust that there would be a huge grain harvest, even though it has been harvested. And even Russia’s grain will not be enough to fill the gap created by Ukraine’s grain if grain transportation cannot be arranged.
Since drought and heat will tax Europe’s crop production, the price of food will at least not decrease. The price of grain will probably remain high.
– The world will not run out of food: those who can afford to pay for more expensive food will get it. The question is more about how to cope with the higher costs of food in poorer countries, states Jyrki Niemi.