COCERAL in March 2023: EU harvest estimate 2023 over 5-year level On March 24, 2023, the umbrella organization of European grain and oilseed traders (COCERAL) published its 2nd estimate for the EU grain harvest 2023 of around 280 million tons published. In it, the result of the first estimate of 282 million t is slightly corrected downwards. Compared to the previous year 2022 with a result of 266.5 million t, a significant improvement is expected. The areas under cultivation have increased slightly. The area yields are predicted to be slightly above the previous year's level. In the corn harvest , the largest increase of +20% is expected compared to the weak result in 2022, despite the smaller acreage. In the case of wheat , however, COCERAL only estimates an increase of +2.1%. The barley harvest is estimated at the previous year's level. In the individual EU member states, with very different results from the previous year, there is a wide range of expected changes: in Hungary +5 milliont more forecast, in Romania +3.7 million t, but in Poland -2 million t. Despite the drought in the southern parts of the country, Spain's harvest is expected to be +3 million t higher and Italy 's +2.3 million t higher. France, which is also suffering from drought, should only be able to increase its weak previous year's result by +0.7 million t. Based on the DRV, a reduction of -1 million t is predicted for Germany . In view of the early estimation date with partial support from average values, a comparison with the 5-year average makes more sense. As a result, the total harvest in 2023 should be an average of 4% above the multi-year average. Results in France and Spain remain below average, while Poland, Romania and Hungary are expected to be above the 5-year average. Germany is placed in the middle.
