European corn struggles in heat, prompting bigger imports

Scorching temperatures are hurting the European Union’s corn crops, putting the bloc on track for its largest imports in three seasons.

Temperatures in the week to Aug. 16 rose as much as 9C above normal in northern Spain and southern France, according to the US Department of Agriculture. The heat has dimmed prospects for both quality and yields.

The share of French corn rated in good to excellent condition fell to 62% in the week to Aug. 18, crops office FranceAgriMer said Friday, well below last year’s figure. Dry weather is also hurting crops in Bulgaria, where corn and sunflower yields may drop to their lowest in decades.

Buyers are likely to offset any potential crop shortfalls with cheap and plentiful supplies from other regions. Expectations of bumper harvests in Brazil and the US have weighed on prices, sending Chicago corn futures to an almost 12-month low earlier in August.

Paris corn futures rose as much as 0.8% to the highest in more than a week on Friday, before paring gains.

Corn from both Brazil and the US is “pricing very competitively on the global market, which is encouraging import demand,” said Matt Darragh, a grains and oilseed analyst at Kpler. “Corn production in the EU is coming under a bit of stress, so this is likely to support corn imports too.”

The EU is expected to import 21 million tons of corn in the 2025-26 season, according to a forecast by the International Grains Council. That would make the bloc the world’s second-largest buyer for a second straight year, as China - typically a strong purchaser of the feed grain - faces weaker demand.

European crop harvests are expected to accelerate heading into the fall, with cooler, wetter weather forecast in the coming days.

“Rain in south central areas should continue to replenish moisture for late growth of corn and sunflowers,” said Vaisala meteorologist Donald Keeney. “However, dryness will continue across UK, northern Germany, southern Romania, Bulgaria and Spain.”