The lack of rain and the heatwave in Sweden have hurt the 2018 wheat harvest and the country may have to import wheat for animal feed and bioethanol production, Reuters reports.

Mikael Jeppsso, head of the grain unit of local agricultural cooperative Lantmannen, told the news agency the harvest could be down to 1.7-1.9 million tonnes from 3.2 million a year ago.

If the country is forced to import wheat for ethanol and animal feed, it will most likely get it from somewhere in the European Union (EU), Jeppsso told Reuters.

In July Lantmannen published its forecast for the Swedish harvest in 2018, saying it will reach its lowest level since 1992. Due to fewer hectares of winter wheat being sown and reduced yields because of the extreme heat and drought in May and June, Lantmannen expects just 4.2 million tonnes of grain, oilseed crops and pulses this year, down from 6.5 million tonnes in the 2017 harvest.

 

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