French wheat producers asked on Thursday “activation of a State-guaranteed agricultural loan (PGE)” to prevent cereal growers from going under afterwards “the worst soft wheat harvest in 40 years”. “We are urgently requesting the activation of an agricultural PGE” to save a “cereal sector in danger” after the worst soft wheat harvest since 1983, said Eric Thirouin, president of the General Association of Wheat Producers (AGPB), at a press conference in Paris.
The AGPB estimates that 2024 soft wheat production has fallen by 26% (to 25.98 million tonnes) compared to the previous year, with a yield of 6.2 tonnes per hectare (-17%). “Until 2015, French yields generally continued to increase or remained stable (…). For ten years, we have had yields that have been falling.”he stressed, referring to a decrease of almost 2 tonnes per hectare. “Farmers are finding themselves with cash flow in the red. The overall loss of turnover for cereal producers amounts to 3 billion euros. It’s a triple whammy, with low yields, falling prices (on the world market) and costs that remain high.”he said.
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“The sustainability of our sector is in danger”
According to the AGPB estimate, the cost of production of soft wheat is today on average “264 euros per ton” while “the price paid to the farmer is 175 euros/t”. Depending on the size of the farms, “We are missing between 50,000 and 100,000 euros of cash to run the coming year. It’s colossal.”underlines Éric Thirouin. “As the days go by, the more the sustainability of our farms and our sector is in danger. There is a real urgency to act (…), this is our cry of alarm to the future government”he hammered home.
“In relation to climatic hazards, we need resources. We have more and more regulations and restrictions that weaken our means of production.”adds Éric Thirouin, referring to the ban on certain pesticides but also “blocked innovations” such as new genomic techniques, the authorisation of which is still under discussion in Brussels. As a result, he said, “Farmers are adapting by reducing grain production”. “In 10 years, France has lost a million hectares of cereals. We are in the process of liquidating the sector”he lamented.
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