EU confirms most of its grain, oilseed estimates for 2022/23

PARIS (Reuters) - The European Commission on Thursday left unchanged most of its monthly forecasts for last year's grain harvests in the European Union with usable production of common wheat, or soft wheat, still expected at 126.4 million tonnes.

In supply and demand data, the Commission also maintained its forecast for soft wheat exports in the 2022/23 season at 34.0 million tonnes.

Meanwhile, the Commission's estimate for maize usable production was kept at 52.1 million tonnes and estimated barley output was unchanged from December at 51.6 million tonnes.

In oilseeds, the Commission also kept its forecasts unchanged with the EU's usable production of rapeseed, the bloc's main oilseed crop, still estimated at 19.6 million tonnes.

Sunflower seed production, which like maize was hit by torrid summer weather, was also unchanged at 9.2 million tonnes.

(Reporting by Sybille de La Hamaide, editing by Gus Trompiz, Kirsten Donovan)