Wheat imports are likely to rise
Jim O’Mahony, of the Agriculture and Food Development Authority, said: “The harvest was disappointing, due mainly to poor sowing areas because of last autumn’s weather.”
The wheat area had been reduced to 92,000 hectares from 103,000 last year, he said, with estimated yields back to nine tonnes per hectare from 10.5.
Total wheat production was expected to be around 800,000 tonnes compared with more than one million tonnes last year, he said.
Mr O’Mahony said carry-over from 2004 would cover some of this year’s wheat shortfall but that increased imports were likely.
Ireland annually imports between 500,000 and 800,000 tonnes of wheat, the bulk of it from Britain and France.
