Bulgaria: Winter barley area down 21.4% this year

Bulgaria’s fall planting has come to its final stage. The country experienced contradictory weather conditions in the course of this work, reports UkrAgroConsult. On the one hand, abundant October precipitation replenished soil moisture and produced a beneficial effect on growth of already sown winter crops. On the other hand, this precipitation stopped planting in most of the country’s regions.

For winter barley, this period was rather adverse than favorable. As farmers and machinery were focused rather on harvesting late spring crops and sowing winter wheat and rape, large-scale planting of winter barley started with some delay, towards the close of its optimum planting period. Generally speaking, the period of favorable weather conditions for barley planting was somewhat missed and the work was interrupted at its height by persistent rains.

So, by the end of November, farmers planted a 21.4% smaller area to winter barley than a year ago.

Maryna Sych, grain market analyst of UkrAgroConsult, notes that reduction of barley plantings in Bulgaria is already a trend, not a pure chance. So, this year farmers preferred winter rape rather than barley.

07 December, 2016