EU expects Europe's cereal harvest up this year

BRUSSELS, Belgium - Cereal yields in the European Union are expected to rise 16 percent this year compared with 2007, officials said Thursday. Higher yields should help calm grain prices, which have surged over the past year because bad weather hit last year's crop amid worries that a boom in biofuels would eat up more cereals. Attracted by better prices, farmers have planted 5 percent more land with cereal crops this year, the European Commission said. Good weather should also help total harvest climb to 301 million metric tons (331.8 million tons) across the 27-nation European Union--43 million metric tons (47.4 million tons) more than last year. This is also 9 percent above the average yield for the past five years. European shoppers are paying some 10 percent more for bread and cereals than they were a year ago. Along... [read full story]