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London: European farmers look to have little option but to stick with wheat as they plant crops for harvesting next year with only a marginal decline in area seen despite a sharp drop in prices.
Farmers were quick to plant more wheat when prices soared last year, with area in Britain climbing 13 per cent, but the response to the market's decline has been much more muted despite stubbornly high input costs.
Difficult decision
"The planting decision was exceptionally difficult for farmers this year with prices falling for just about every crop," one German analyst said.
Analysts said wheat remains the most profitable crop for many European farmers despite the drop in prices, with yields often substantially higher than alternatives such as barley.
Milling wheat futures in Paris surged in Sep-tember 2007 as high as 300.00 euros (Dh1,411) a tonne on the benchmark second month.
A record world crop and the global economic crisis have, however, led to prices falling to less than half that level, trading on Friday at around 140.50 euros.
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