DRV: German grain harvest as low as 24 years ago - Germany net import country The German Raiffeisenverband (DRV) estimates the German grain harvest in its August issue at 36.3 million t. Such a result was last retracted in 1994. Compared to the average of the last 5 years, this year's harvest is approx. 25% below the mean. Decisive for the poor performance are the drought-induced reduced area yields of an average of -17% compared to the already weak previous year. Due to massive conversion of grain to whole plant crops - especially for maize - the harvested area has also been reduced by 4.3%.Compared to the previous year, the DRV estimates an almost 50% reduction in the grain maize harvest , which is even greater in the north of the republic than in the south. In the case of wheat , the DRV expects a harvest loss of approx. 19% compared to the previous year. The yield estimate of 65.7 dt / ha is significantly lower than previous peak yields of 86 dt / ha (2014). The winter barley harvest is estimated to be -18% smaller than last year. In contrast, summer barley production is 14.2% higher due to the expanded acreage. Overall, however, barley production remains almost 13% below the previous year's level.The drought-tolerant rye had not grown with yield losses of -21% of the heatwave. The same applies to triticale. Given average German grain consumption of 43 million tonnes , Germany will inevitably depend on grain imports after decades. A whole series of shiploads have already been cleared . 26 million tonnes are the feed consumption most affected by livestock farming. For direct human consumption , little changed 8.5 million tonnes have been used for years.The industrial use of brewing salt, spirits up to bioethanol gains a washing importance. Despite crop reductions across the EU, Germany can import sufficient quantities of cereals due to its central location in neighboring countries, with a focus on France. Also overseas transports come because of the cheaper sea freight in question. Problems arise because of the low water conditions in the inland waters, so that the cargo capacities can not be fully exploited and higher costs arise. The grain price level will be significantly higher this year than in the past 5 years.
