French soft wheat sowing ahead of average pace after drier November
Recasts with winter cereal sowing and maize harvesting
Nov 29 (Reuters) -Soft wheat sowing in France has moved ahead of the average pace of recent years, data from farm office FranceAgriMer showed on Friday, as drier weather this month helped farmers catch up on rain delays earlier in the autumn.
Farmers had sown 93% of the expected soft wheat area by Nov. 25, up from 81% a year ago and also ahead of a 91% average for the same week in the past five years, FranceAgriMer said in cereal crop report.
Wet weather in September and October hampered field work and raised fears of a repeat of last year's rain-hit sowing campaign that contributed to the worst wheat harvest in 40 years.
However, much drier conditions in November have let sowing accelerate, though some observers warn that yield potential for next year's harvest may have been dented.
Soft wheat is the most widely grown cereal in France, the European Union's biggest crop producer.
FranceAgriMer estimated that 87% of the newly sown soft wheat crop was in good or excellent condition, down slightly from 88% the previous week but up from 80% a year ago.
Farmers were also nearing the end of winter barley sowing and maize harvesting.
An estimated 98% of the winter barley area had been drilled, ahead of a five-year average of 96%, while 89% of the maize crop had been gathered, down from a five-year average of 98%, the office said.
Despite rain delays, a bigger maize crop is widely anticipated in France, supported by a jump in spring planting.
For durum wheat, the variety used in pasta, 63% of the expected area had been sown, slightly behind the five-year average of 66%, FranceAgriMer said.
Reporting by Anna Peverieri, Nathan Vifflin and Gus Trompiz
Editing by David Goodman and David Evans
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