In 2022, the European Union (EU) harvested approximately 270.9 million tonnes of cereals, which was a decrease of 26.7 million tonnes or 9% compared to the previous year.
In 2022, France produced the most cereals in the EU, with 59.9 million tonnes. This accounted for 22% of the EU’s total cereal production. Germany, Poland, Spain, and Romania also had significant cereal harvests, contributing 16%, 13%, 7%, and 7% respectively to the EU’s total production.
The European Union experienced a decrease in cereal production in 2022 due to drought conditions in Romania, France, Spain, and Hungary. Romania saw the largest decline with a decrease of 32%, followed by France with a decline of 10%, Spain with a decline of 24%, and Hungary with a decline of 35%.
In 2022, the EU’s harvest of common wheat and spelt decreased by 2% compared to the previous year, resulting in 126.7 million tonnes. Similarly, the production of grain maize and corn-cob-mix dropped by 27% to 53.0 million tonnes in 2022 compared to 2021.
The significant decrease primarily resulted from the negative impacts of extensive droughts across the European Union.
Crop production is greatly affected by the weather, particularly during the growing season and at harvest time. In numerous parts of Europe, the summer of 2022 experienced the highest or second highest maximum daily temperatures since 1991.
The high temperatures and drought in certain regions of the EU led to lower crop yields, especially for grain maize.
Reference- National Geographic, The Guardian, BBC, Vice