World Grain - June 2008 - 21

COUNTRYFOCUS

Focus on
France
E.U.'s largest grain producer and exporter
dealing with uncertainty due to volatile
cereal prices, CAP reform
by Chris Lyddon

France, the largest country in Western Europe in terms of geographical area, is also its biggest grain producer. Food is taken
seriously in France, and food producers are possibly more valued
than in many other western countries. However, volatile cereal
prices and the continuing reform of the European Union's (E.U.)
Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) mean that the cereals industry is facing an unaccustomed and, for many, unwelcome level of
uncertainty.
France is by far the E.U.'s biggest grain producer. According to
the International Grains Council's (IGC) most recent estimates,
France produced a total of 60.1 million tonnes of grain in 2007,
compared with 61.3 million in 2006.
According to the producer organization AGPB (Association
Générale des Producteurs de Blé et autres cereals), which represents 350,000 cereal producers, 18% of the total area of France is
taken up with cereal production.
France produced 33 million tonnes of
wheat in 2007, compared with 35.4 million
the year before. France's maize crop was
15.3 million tonnes in 2007, compared with
12.9 million tonnes in 2006. It produced 9.5
million tonnes of barley in 2007, down from
10.4 million in 2006.
The IGC predicts a rise in French wheat
production of 18% to 39 million tonnes in
2008, a figure which includes 2.3 million
ton
tonnes of durum.
The French agricultural statistics body Agreste estima
mates 2007 soft wheat production at 30.7 million tonnes
(3
(33.3 million in 2006) with a further 19.8 million tonnes
of durum (21 million in 2006).
France is also Europe's second largest producer of biotech
maize, according to an attaché report published last summer,
with almost 20,000 hectares (ha) planted in 2007 despite often
vocal public opposition. Largely grown in the south, most of it

UNITED
KINGDOM

NETHERLAND

BELGIUM

GERMANY

LUXEMBURG

FRANCE

SWITZERLAND

ITALY

MONACO

N
SPAIN

Key Facts
Capital: Paris
Population: 64,057,790 (July 2008 est.)
Religions: Roman Catholic 83%-88%, Muslim 5%-10%,
unaffiliated 4%, Protestant 2%, Jewish 1%.
Location: Western Europe, bordering the Bay of Biscay and
English Channel, between Belgium and Spain, southeast
of the United Kingdom; bordering the Mediterranean Sea,
between Italy and Spain.
Government: Republic; chief of state: President Nicolas
Sarkozy (since May 16, 2007); head of government: Prime
Minister Francois Fillon (since May 17, 2007).
Economy: France is in the midst of transition from a
well-to-do modern economy that has featured extensive
government ownership and intervention to one that relies
more on market mechanisms. The government has partially
or fully privatized many large companies, banks and
insurers, and has ceded stakes in such leading firms as Air
France, France Telecom, Renault, and Thales. It maintains a
strong presence in some sectors, particularly power, public
transport, and defense industries. The telecommunications
sector is gradually being opened to competition. France's
leaders remain committed to a capitalism in which they
maintain social equity by means of laws, tax policies and
social spending that reduce income disparity and the impact
of free markets on public health and welfare. Widespread
opposition to labor reform has in recent years hampered
the government's ability to revitalize the economy. In 2007,
the government launched divisive labor reform efforts that
will continue into 2008. France's tax burden remains one of
the highest in Europe (nearly 50% of GDP in 2005). France
brought the budget deficit within the eurozone's 3%-of-GDP
limit for the first time in 2007.
GDP per capita: $33,800 (2007 est.); Inflation: 1.5%
(2007 est.); unemployment 8% (2007 est.).
Currency: Euro; May 20, 2008 exchange rate: 1 U.S. dollar
= 0.6386 euros.
Exports: $558.9 billion f.o.b. (2007 est.): machinery and
transportation equipment, aircraft, plastics, chemicals,
pharmaceutical products, iron and steel, and beverages.
Imports: $601.4 billion f.o.b. (2007 est.): machinery
and equipment, vehicles, crude oil, aircraft, plastics, and
chemicals.
Major crops/agricultural products: Wheat, cereals,
sugar beets, potatoes, wine grapes; beef, dairy products, fish.
Agriculture: 2% of GDP and 4.1% of the labor force.
Internet: Code .fr; 12.556 million hosts and 31.295 million
users (2007 est.)
Source: World Factbook

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