Wheat production in the European Union and Britain is set to rebound this year as the crop area and yields recover from weather woes the previous growing season, a Reuters poll showed.
But the rain that has benefited European crops since spring was now creating concern about harvest quality and raising a question mark over export prospects, traders and analysts said.
The 27-country EU is expected to harvest 130.4 million tonnes of common wheat - or soft wheat - in 2021, up 11% from last year, according to an average of 10 forecasts in the poll.
Production Rebounding
For the EU plus Britain, output will rise 15% to 146.2 million tonnes, an average of eight estimates showed.
Britain's production is seen rebounding by about 50% from last year's crop that suffered from bouts of heavy rain.
The EU, collectively one of the world's largest wheat growers and exporters, could see "high harvest volume but quality issues," Vincent Braak of Strategie Grains said.
In top EU wheat producer France, good yields are expected but, as in Romania, frequent showers at the start of summer may trim grain quality.
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