Europe Heatwave Wipes Out €2bn in Grain Crops
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- Coceral, the European cereals and oilseeds trade association, estimated the June heatwave destroyed 9m tonnes of grain — the smallest harvest since 2018 for the EU27 and UK — and valued the lost production at €2bn (£1.7bn).
- France is expected to take the biggest hit, with 3.4m tonnes of maize lost worth €891m, followed by Hungary (2.4m tonnes) and Spain (1.4m tonnes).
- Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes farmer Benoît Merlo said a decade of adapting to hotter conditions had not helped: with temperatures exceeding 38C for weeks, he expects yield losses of 50-70% on crops like soya.
- The ECIU thinktank noted the €2bn figure excludes wider losses such as vegetables and livestock, and pointed out the UK has already recorded three of its five worst harvests this decade.
- British farmers are reporting dry conditions across much of the UK, especially East Anglia and southeast England, with the AHDB saying spring crops and winter cereals with limited moisture reserves took the heaviest toll.
- The shortfall is expected to make Europe more dependent on grain imports and push global commodity prices higher, compounding pressure from severe drought across the southern and western US that is also tightening global supply.
Why it matters: Europe's smallest harvest since 2018 will force greater reliance on grain imports just as US drought tightens global supply, leaving consumers exposed to higher food prices. French maize farmers alone face €891m in losses, and one farmer reports 50-70% yield drops on soya after weeks above 38C — with the €2bn headline figure still excluding vegetable and livestock damage.
