Defra releases first estimate for 2018 English wheat area

Defra has released its first estimate for the 2018 English wheat area
Defra has released its first estimate for the 2018 English wheat area

Defra has released its first estimate for the 2018 English wheat area, estimated at 1.64 million hectares.

At 1.64m ha, it is slightly above figures released by the AHBD, according to Gleadell, a major trader of grain in the UK.

If correct, this would equate to around a further 150,000t of UK production, lifting the crop back towards 14m t.

However, Gleadell said both AHDB and Defra crop or area forecasts are "treated with extreme caution nowadays", and there is a chance the crop is still nearer 13.5 than 14m t.