EU AGRICULTURE UNDER STRAIN

BRUSSELS, AUGUST 23 /SRNA/ - Farmers across the European Union have warned of sharp declines in crop yields after successive heatwaves swept across Europe this summer.

Economists estimate that the losses are likely to drive up food prices in the coming months. The EU's Copernicus Climate Change Service said June and July this year were the hottest on record in western Europe. A prolonged heatwave also continued through August, with further high temperatures expected in September. In much of France, one of the EU's largest grain producers, groundwater reserves were severely depleted by the beginning of August, according to the French Geological Survey. "Prince de Bretagne", a major vegetable growers' cooperative in Brittany, warned last week of a "historic vegetable crisis". The cooperative forecast yield declines of 40 percent for peas, 60 percent for broccoli and between 50 and 100 percent for artichokes this summer. Livestock farmers have warned of a growing "feed production deficit" ahead of winter. In northern Italy, one of Europe's main rice-growing regions, water shortages have left some fields "completely dead, burned out, with dried-up rice", according to Coldiretti, the country's largest farmers' association. Farmers in Spain have also reported significant declines in grain yields, as well as shortages of animal feed. The German Farmers' Association warned last week that grain production would be 3.3 million tons, or seven percent, lower than last year. Analysts at Zurich Insurance and several European banks estimated that heatwaves could cost the EU between 50 billion and 180 billion euros, RT Balkan reported.