Barley, rather than wheat, has borne the brunt of European Union weather setbacks, cutting yield prospects for a crop whose prospects were already curtailed by the lowest sowings in 50 years.

US Department of Agriculture beancounters made only a token cut of 1.1m tonnes, equivalent to 0.8%, in their estimate for the EU's wheat harvest in their latest set of monthly crop revisions.

The reduction, to 141.8m tonnes, was one quarter of the total that some analysts were expecting, and initially prompted a 6% plunge in Paris wheat prices as investors adjusted to more plentiful supplies.

Analysts at Rabobank said that the "surprisingly" modest wheat downgrade reflected in the relatively recent timing of many of the weather setbacks, which range from unusually dry weather in France to floods in Romania.

"We expect further revisions below 140m tonnes in future reports," the bank said.

Finnish start delayed

However, the USDA slashed its estimate for the EU barley crop – the world's biggest - by 2.4m tonnes, in part reflecting the lowest seeding since the 1960s, but also a drop in yield hopes.

"These changes are based on recent field reports and unfavourable weather, including dry conditions in Western Europe and a very wet spring in Central and Eastern Europe," the USDA said.

The crop in France, the EU's biggest wheat producer, on which concerns of regional dryness have centred took the biggest hit, of 650,000 tonnes.

However, Finland, a small grain state, also took a huge hit, of 600,000 tonnes, equivalent to about one-third of its typical harvest.

"Low temperatures and dry conditions delayed or prevented spring plantings," the USDA said.

Global cut 

The declining prospects for Europe's crop led a cut of nearly 7m tonnes to the department's forecast for global barley production, with hopes for Russia's crop, which has also been affected by dry weather, and Canada's, beset by a wet spring, also seeing significant reductions.

World barley stocks are poised to end 2010-11 at 27.0m tonnes, down one-third year on year, but still rich by historical comparison.

While the grain has proved unpopular with farmers throughout the world this season, thanks to low prices, its star has fallen particularly in Europe because of the withdrawal of European Commission intervention buying.