In 2021, there was the lowest average cereal yield in the last three years

Provisional data of the Central Statistical Bureau (CSB) show that in 2021, the cereal area increased by 22.7 thousand hectares or 3 %, but prolonged heat and drought resulted in the lowest cereal yield in three years - 38.6 quintals per hectare.

Last year 3.0 million tonnes of total harvested production of grain was obtained, which was 502.5 thousand tonnes or 14.4 % less than in 2020, when the highest total grain production in the history of Latvia – 3.5 million tonnes – was registered.

Harvested production and average yield of agricultural crops

Spring cereals’ yield lowest in last 11 years

The weather in summer 2021 had a significant impact on the yields of almost all agricultural crops, especially spring cereals. The average yield per hectare of winter cereals decreased by 7.2 quintals compared to 2020, and the total yield obtained was 107.3 thousand tonnes or 4.4 % lower. The average yield per hectare of spring cereals decreased by 11.0 quintals and is the lowest in the last 11 years.

The share of winter cereals in total cereal production increased from 69.5 % in 2020 to 77.6 % in 2021. Although the average yield per hectare of winter wheat decreased from 56.9 quintals in 2020 to 49.2 quintals in 2021, with an increase of 11.6 % in winter wheat area, its total yield was 2.1 million tonnes, representing 70.1 % of the total grain harvest (62.2 % in 2020).

The total harvest of spring cereals decreased by 395.2 thousand tonnes or 37.1% compared to the previous year. In 2021, yields of all spring cereals decreased: spring barley by 41.0 %, spring wheat by 36.2 % and oats by 36.5 % compared to the previous year. The decrease in the total yield of spring cereals was also due to a decrease in their area of 20.7 thousand hectares or 6.6 %.

Last year the largest cereal area in Latvian agriculture

In 2021, 776.4 thousand hectares were sown with cereals, an increase of 22.7 thousand hectares or 3.0 % more than the previous year, making it the largest cereal area in Latvian agriculture.

Cereals accounted for 59.6 % of the total sown area in 2021 (59.0 % in 2020), while the share of rape remained stable at 11.3 % in 2021 (11.4 % in 2020). The share of winter wheat in the cereal area increased significantly from 50.7 % in 2020 to 54.9 % in 2021.

Sown area of agricultural crops

(thousand hectares)

15.4 % less grain purchased in 2021, 16.9 % increase in purchase price

Last year, a total of 2.5 million tonnes of grain were purchased, a decrease of 458.6 thousand tonnes or 15.4 % compared to the previous year. The average purchase price for grain has increased significantly (by 16.9 %), from EUR 164.94 per tonne in 2020 to EUR 192.86 in 2021.

Wheat accounted for 84.4 % of the grain purchased (83.0 % in 2020), of which only 65.4 % was of food quality (80.2 % in 2020). The share of food rye in total rye purchases increased slightly from 74.9 % in 2020 to 77.4 % in 2021.

Middle East and Africa remain the main export markets for grain

Total grain exports in 2021 are down 7.6 % compared to 2020, including 12.3 % for wheat and 12.9 % for rye. However, exports of barley (51.6 %) and oats (1 %) have increased.

In 2021, the largest grain exports were to Nigeria (40 %), Spain (9.2 %), South Africa (7.5 %) and Saudi Arabia (5.2 %). More statistics on grain exports and imports can be found in the Foreign Trade Interactive Tool at CSB website eksports.csb.gov.lv.

Total rape seed harvest down by 5.8 %

In 2021, total rape seed yields fell by 26.3 thousand tonnes or 5.8 %, while the area under cultivation increased by only 0.7 %. Average yield per hectare decreased from 30.9 quintals in 2020 to 28.9 quintals in 2021. The decrease in total rape seed yield was due to a decrease of 3.5 thousand hectares or 19.2 % in the area sown to spring rape and a decrease in average yield per hectare from 20.0 quintals in 2020 to 14.8 quintals in 2021 or 26.0 %. The average yield of spring rape is the lowest in the last eleven years.

Average yields per hectare of potatoes and vegetables decrease

In 2021, the total yield of potatoes was 249.0 thousand tonnes, a decrease of 128.5 thousand tonnes or 34.0 % compared to the previous year. The area under potato plantations decreased by 1.8 thousand hectares or 10.0 %, while the average yield per hectare decreased from 208 quintals in 2020 to 153 quintals in 2021, the lowest potato yield in the last fifteen years.

In 2021, weather conditions had a significant impact on the production of vegetables in the open field. Average yields per hectare fell from 177 quintals in 2020 to 154 quintals last year, the lowest average yield for open field vegetables since 2013, when it was only 148 quintals. In 2021, a total of 127.1 thousand, which represents an increase of 32.0 thousand tonnes of vegetables (including those grown in greenhouses). The volume of vegetables grown in greenhouses increased by 1.7 thousand tonnes or 14.4 %. 

Semi-provisional information on the area planted, total yield of agricultural crops is published in the „Agriculture” section of the Official Statistics Portal, but the final data will be published on 31 March 2022.

¹Provisional data

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More information on data:
Guna Karlsone
Agricultural Statistics Section
E-mail: Guna.Karlsone@csp.gov.lv
Phone: +371 67366981