Pessimistic Forecasts Of Blue Poppy 2022 Crop

Poppy Seeds Processors from the Czech Republic and Hungary reports a 30-35% drop in sowing from 2022 compared to previous year. Meanwhile, it is still difficult for poppy buyers to get a good raw material from the 2021 harvest as many existing batches have high levels of alkaloids. In this article you will find a summary of the 2021 harvest and forecasts for 2022.

Weather was the main culprit behind the promising blue poppy seed harvest in 2021.

Last year's harvest in Czech Republic (Europe’s largest blue poppy producer) was the highest in twelve years, where, according to official statistics 43,867 ha of poppy seeds were planted. However, the average yield in 2021 was ~0.67 tons per hectare, which is below the 10-years average. Damp and cold spring caused weather caused a significant delay in vegetation. Many fields were harvested during the rainy season, which required additional cleaning (higher weeds content) and drying (due to higher moisture), which increased the cost of the final product. Unfavorable weather conditions resulted in worse quality of the available poppy. Another challenge for exporters was to ensure the low levels of morphine (below 10 mg/kg) which are now requested by many European buyers.?

Despite all this factors, the prices for poppy seeds in the 2021/22 season remained almost unchanged. Prices oscillated for the most of the season at around 2,00 € per kg EXW Czech Republic increasing just recently.

Currently, the biggest issue is finding good quality blue poppy seeds – especially those with good morphine content.?Good batches with morphine below 10 mg / kg level are now more expensive and reach almost € 2.50 per kg EXW but quantities are limited.

Blue poppy seeds 2022 crop size is expected to be 30–35 % lower than in 2021

Farmers in Czech Republic and Hungary (the second largest poppy seeds grower in the region) waited for the price increase – as it happened with many commodities in the last season. The farmers were simply upset with the final quantity and quality of the 2021 harvest and the disappointing price of the poppies over the season.

The current information gained from the farmers in Czech Republic and Hungary shows, that the crop size from 2022 is expected to be 30-35% smaller than in 2021. However, further uncertainty in climate change could have an impact on yield and thus the final crop size.

_____________________________________________________________________

Feel free to comment this post ????