French farmers bracing for smallest corn crop since 1980

France's corn harvest is on pace this year for a 35 percent fall to nine million tons, a level last seen in 1980 for Europe's biggest grains producer, the government said Friday.

The AGPM producers' association had previously forecast a harvest of 9.5 million, down 30 percent from a year ago, owing to a reduction in areas under cultivation.

But new forecasts from the agriculture ministry's statistics department take into account heatwaves that hit the crop in critical stages of its growth cycle.

Yields are estimated to fall to 70.3 quintals per hectare, down 19 percent on the year, under the combined effects of heatwaves and drought.

But farmers have also reduced corn production areas in favour crops like sunflowers, or have chosen to leave land fallow amid rising costs.

The Agriculture Ministry estimates that the cultivated area will be down by 21 percent this year, and said corn yields had not declined this sharply since 2003.

The war in the Middle East has sent fertiliser costs soaring, but corn prices have not followed suit, as global production remains relatively abundant.

Cereal grains, mainly winter crops, were "less affected by the extreme heat, but experienced excessive winter rainfall", the ministry said.

It has only slightly revised its harvest forecast, published in mid-July, to 46.1 million tonnes, compared with 46.3 million announced in July.