Market News & Headlines >> European Winter Crops in Good Shape; Some Dryness Concerns

Continued fair autumn weather provided good conditions for planting and emergence of winter crops across most parts of Europe, however, rainfall deficits in central and eastern Europe raise some concerns about winter grain prospects, the European Union Crop Monitoring Service MARS said on Monday in a bulletin.

“Dry conditions in Czechia, Slovakia, southern Ukraine and northern Romania, resulted in delays in winter wheat sowing and crop emergence,” MARS noted. However, planting of winter grains has been completed on time in most of central and northern Europe and is current progressing well in the south, the agency said, adding that in most of these regions, weather conditions have been favorable for crop emergence and early development.

“Rapeseed stands in good condition for entering the winter period,” MARS said, noting that planting was finished “within the optimal time window and under generally favourable conditions” in main producing regions; with the exception of Romania, where planting was slowed by dry conditions. In most regions, adequate temperatures and soil moisture sustained rapeseed emergence and early development.

Weather conditions have also been favorable for harvesting of summer crops in most regions and allowing producers to catch up on progress in areas where delays were reported in October, MARS said.