Winter wheat production down by 30% in 2024, spring wheat production tripled

Agriculture & fishery
Winter wheat production down by 30% in 2024, spring wheat production tripled

Provisional harvest estimate 2024

According to the provisional harvest estimate published by Statbel, the Belgian statistical office, winter cereal production is down in 2024. The production of winter wheat decreased by 30% and that of winter barley by 10%. Spring cereals did better. Potatoes are facing difficulties for the second year in a row.

The wet weather conditions in the autumn 2023 meant that a lot fewer winter crops could be sown. Moreover, persistent rainfall also kept the yield of these crops lower than in 2023. As a result, the production of winter wheat has fallen by 30%, that of spelt by 34% and that of triticale by 29%.

Farmers were forced to anticipate the sowing of spring crops in the spring 2024. So there was a sharp increase in the area of spring cereals and grain maize. Moreover, spring cereal yields were also good, resulting in very high production levels: spring wheat production tripled (+237%), while spring barley production rose by 43%. But these productions were not enough to compensate for the loss of winter cereals. Grain maize yields, on the other hand, were disappointing: they were 13% lower than in 2023. Still, the larger surface area enabled production to increase by 4%.

More potatoes and sugar beet were also planted in the spring. Due to the wet weather conditions, spring works took longer than usual and this will affect yields. A yield drop of 5% is expected for sugar beet and 3% for potatoes. Because 7% more potatoes were planted than in 2023, a provisional production increase of 4% is expected. A 0.5% production decrease is expected for sugar beet.

Agriculture in 2024: fewer winter crops due to heavy rainfall