French farmers bracing for smallest corn crop since 1980
Dried corn stalks stand along the edge of a field heavily scorched by a wildfire in Châtillon-sur-Indre, central France, on July 10, 2026. (AFP Photo)
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.
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.
