To help farmers stay afloat Copa Cogeca has called on the EU Commission to issue an advance payment to those suffering the effects of extreme climatic conditions.
The estimate comes from Copa Cogeca, the farmer and agri cooperative representative body in the EU. The total harvest is expected to be in the region of 273.8m tonnes.
Copa Cogeca cereals working party chair Max Schulman said: "Farmers in some central European and northern countries [Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Denmark, Sweden, Poland, Germany and Finland] have been hit by severe drought, which is reaching catastrophic proportions. Whilst some southern countries [Iberian Peninsula, Italy, France] have been experiencing floods."
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Copa Cogeca oilseeds working party chair Arnaud Rousseau went on to warn of the estimated 6% drop, around 2m tonnes, in EU oilseeds production. Last year's production figure stood at 31.5m tonnes.
"We are concerned about the substitution of EU crop-based biofuels by palm oil and biodiesel imports. EU crop-based biofuels which generate a protein-rich co-product for use in animal feed must be promoted against palm oil in the EU. In addition, we call on the Commission to implement urgently the countervailing duty on biodiesel imports originating from Argentina".
Comment: While the capabilities of weather modification is still up for debate, what is clear is that all over the world the climate has dramatically shifted where a variety of extreme weather events are becoming increasingly common, and that includes record breaking drought and epic flooding: