The acreage devoted to the crop's cultivation stands at 131,640 hectares, which entails a 5.1% increase compared to last year, after a 5.3% growth two years ago.
In 2017, the average yield reached 47 tonnes/hectare, which represents an increase of more than 15% compared to last year; that is, 6 tonnes more in one year. However, the figure for 2017 is about 3 tonnes/hectare lower than the record level of 2014, when the yield reached 50 tonnes/hectare.
Compared to 2014 (the last year when there was a high production), production in 2017 is approximately 110,000 tonnes higher, but industrial demand in the countries of north western Europe has increased by 1.5 million tonnes between 2014 and 2017.
Source: agrodigital.com
