Harvest Estimates - September 2025

“Despite considerable weather fluctuations during the vegetation period, favourable production of most of the crops with a later harvest date is expected. Higher production, year-on-year, is mainly expected as for potatoes, poppy, soya, and sunflower. On the other hand, production of sugar beet will probably be considerably lower, primarily due to a smaller sown area. A decrease in production is also expected for grain maize,” Dagmar Pospíšilová from the Agricultural and Forestry Statistics Unit of the Czech Statistical Office (CZSO) stated.

The potato harvest is estimated to be in the amount of 729 thousand tonnes, which is a year-on-year increase by 11.2%. It is the highest potato harvest since the year 2011. This result was not only contributed to by enlargement of the area planted with potatoes but also by an increase in the per hectare yield. The latter slightly increased compared to the August estimate from 29.45 tonnes per hectare (t/ha) to 30.15 t/ha, which is an increase by 2.4%.

The estimated production of sugar beet in the amount of 3 727 thousand tonnes is by 18.7% lower compared to the above-average harvest last year. The decrease is mainly owing to a decrease in its sown area.  

On the other hand, thanks to the enlargement of the sown area, considerably more sunflower seed will be harvested, according to the estimate, namely 58 thousand tonnes (+40.3%). Harvest of the following is also higher, year-on-year: soya (84 thousand tonnes; +14.6%), poppy (31 thousand tonnes, +14.7%), or field peas for grain (112 thousand tonnes; +26.5%).

This year’s latest estimate specified better the expected harvest (production) of rape to be in the amount of 1 026 thousand tonnes, which is a y-o-y increase by 8.4%. Compared to the five-year average, however, the current harvest estimate is by one tenth lower (−9.9%).

The expected harvest of grain maize in the amount of 667 thousand tonnes is by 6.4% lower, year-on-year. The total harvest of cereals including grain maize is thus currently 8 329 thousand tonnes, which is a y-o-y increase by 10.9%; it is exceeding the five-year average by 4.0%. The total per hectare yield of cereals slightly increased compared to the August estimate from 6.37 t/ha to 6.44 t/ha (+1.1%).

Harvest of green maize estimated to be in the amount of 8 417 thousand tonnes is by 18.0% higher, year-on-year. However, due to lower per hectare yields, lower amounts of clover and lucerne were harvested (−10.9% and −7.6%, respectively). 

For more detailed information on estimates of crop harvests see the Supplementary information to the news release on Harvest estimates – September.