• Despite a difficult past season for grain maize, the area has increased this year and yields are expected to be very good.
  • Rising grain maize production in Poland and unfavourable weather in France mean that this season we may overtake the EU leader.
  • Poor French maize yields also mean that Polish grain may be in demand on export markets.

As usual, we spoke about the current situation in the corn industry with Prof. Tadeusz Michalski, president of the Polish Maize Producers Association. Although the harvest is only just beginning, he is optimistic about how it will go and stresses that weather conditions unfavorable for corn across much of Europe could work to the advantage of Polish growers.

Corn production is growing in Poland

Although it was hard to foresee this during last year’s difficult corn harvest, which many farmers finished “in the red,” the area planted with this crop in Poland continues to grow. While a year ago we expected the sown area to decrease, it increased by approximately 30 thousand ha nationwide, reaching a record 1,988 million ha in the season now ending.

- A good harvest is expected, with yields likely to be comparable to last year, which was the best season to date according to the Central Statistical Office of Poland (GUS). With around 1,35 million ha of grain maize crops, we have a chance of harvesting around 9,5 million tonnes of dry maize grain. This would mean that Poland could take first place in the European Union in terms of maize grain production, says Prof. Tadeusz Michalski.

Will France lose its top spot?

However, it should not be forgotten that in recent years France has been the undisputed leader in maize grain production in the European Union, with annual production of around 11 million tonnes—significantly more than the 9,5 million tonnes forecast for Poland. However, as the president of the Polish Maize Producers Association points out, there is nothing to suggest that France will enjoy good yields this season.

- In a normal year, average yields in France are as high as 10 t/ha of dry grain, much higher than here, but this year France has been severely affected by drought. This has led to poor plant development, poor pollination and early drying. All of this has resulted in major yield losses. As a result, Poland has a chance to become the leader in the European Union, says Prof. Tadeusz Michalski.

He also adds that this is good news because there will be a noticeable shortage of French grain in the markets it reaches. This, in turn, creates an opportunity to export Polish maize, which, thanks to increased interest, could lead to better purchase prices.

Polish farmers see potential in maize

It is impossible to overlook the fact mentioned above that, after a difficult previous season, Polish farmers decided to increase the area planted with maize this year. This is all the more interesting because Poland is one of the few countries where the area planted with this crop is still growing.

- We are approaching the second magic threshold, which is 2 million ha. Many farmers are committed to maize production, have specialist equipment on their farms, and find it difficult to switch to other crops. On top of that, winter came early, not everyone managed to sow winter crops in time, and in recent years farmers have generally avoided spring cereals. Maize, however, produces a higher and more stable yield, so it was an obvious choice for many. Many also assumed that a poor season must be followed by a better one and that it was worth taking a risk. If this season does indeed turn out to be as good as it looks, I think we can confidently expect more than 2 million ha of maize in Polish fields next year, says the president of the Polish Maize Producers Association.