Heatwave across Europe devastate wheat fields resulting in crop’s European prices at more than 5-year high

Reuters reports that the “searing heat has devastated wheat fields across northern Europe while a combination of dry conditions and extreme rain in the Black Sea have hit output estimates, with prices soaring on fears of further crop damage.

European wheat prices at more than 5-year highs.

Evidence of serious harm to crops is growing as harvesting heads north in Germany, the European Union’s second largest wheat producer, and in Scandinavia, prompting further cuts to estimates for the 28-member bloc.

“The situation is catastrophic in northern Europe,” Strategie Grains head analyst Andree Defois said on Thursday.

France, the EU’s top producer, has also experienced extreme weather, prompting forecasters to cut their estimates to around 34 million tonnes from 36.6 million harvested last year.

Scandinavia and other Baltic states have also suffered, with Sweden’s wheat crop seen falling 40 percent while in Britain, where wheat crops are expected to fall to a five-year low, farmers are anxiously awaiting results as the harvest moves north.

Read more here