May-2023: MARS increases yield estimates In its latest May issue, the EU-COM Agricultural Meteorological Institute (MARS) increased the estimates of yields per area based on climate data compared to the previous month. The regionally different weather conditions across Europe were included, starting with drought, excess precipitation, lack of rain and seasonally too low temperatures in the months of April to mid-May. A persistent drought dominates the Iberian Peninsula, which extends into the North African Mediterranean countries. MARS estimates the grain yields in Spain and Portugal to be around 25% below the previous year's level and in a five-year comparison even 38 to 43% lower. Little rain was also recorded in southern Sweden and the Baltic States, without significant yield losses being expected. On the other hand, considerable precipitation surpluses were observed in a strip from Ireland via Great Britain, Benelux countries, southern Germany and the south-eastern European member states to the Ukraine.The abundant amounts of rain have created favorable conditions for yield formation. The highest yield increases are forecast for Romania and Bulgaria , each with +14% over 5-year averages, and Hungary with +9%. Below average temperatures have been seen in southern parts of Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary and Bulgaria limiting potential yield increases. Yield increases of between 3 and 4% are estimated for Germany and France . Weaker results in the south of France are more than offset by higher yields in the north. An average grain yield of 5.6 t/ha was determined for the EU-27 . There is no difference compared to the previous year, in a 5-year comparison an increase of +3% should be achieved.
