Drought cuts Austria’s autumn crop forecast further

Austria’s record drought is expected to make this year’s harvest of several autumn crops even worse than previously forecast, ORF reported, citing the Austrian Chamber of Agriculture. Grain maize, soybeans, potatoes, pumpkins and sugar beet are among the crops affected.

Compared with the five-year average, Austria’s grain maize production could fall by almost 30 percent and soybean production by more than 50 percent. Potato yields are expected to decline by between 50 and 70 percent.

Autumn crops including grain maize, silage maize, potatoes, pumpkins, sunflowers, soybeans and sugar beet were exposed to the record dry conditions for longer than cereals, which were harvested in summer.

“The poor harvest of the autumn crops is even more dramatic than feared,” Josef Moosbrugger, president of the Austrian Chamber of Agriculture, told the Austrian Press Agency. Agriculture had been hit and damaged by drought on an unprecedented scale, he said.

Moosbrugger described the government’s drought package and other measures as essential for the sector’s survival. He also called for further investment to improve the climate resilience of Austria’s agriculture and forestry.

Sugar beet harvest expected to fall sharply

The sugar beet harvest could be up to 52 percent lower than last year, according to the chamber’s forecast. Expected yields range from 30 percent below normal in the better-growing areas to 70 percent lower in eastern Austria’s dry regions.

The year-on-year comparison is particularly relevant because Agrana’s sugar factory in Leopoldsdorf in the Marchfeld region closed in spring 2025, halving the area contracted with farmers for sugar beet cultivation. The entire domestic sugar beet harvest is processed at Agrana’s sugar factory in Tulln an der Donau.

Final estimates will be available when sugar beet processing begins at the start of October, Agrana, the parent company of the Wiener Zucker brand, said.

Harvesting of the autumn crops is still under way, so the projected volumes could change further. Compared with the five-year average, the chamber expects oil pumpkin volumes to fall by about one-fifth and sunflower volumes by more than one-third.

Cereal harvest better than feared

The cereal harvest is performing better than expected. In early August, the Agrarmarkt Austria agency forecast a 14.4 percent decline in cereal production excluding maize compared with the long-term average. Its latest estimate puts the decline at 10.9 percent. The soft wheat harvest is now expected to be down 15.6 percent, rather than the 18.4 percent forecast in August.

Austria’s wine harvest is expected to be about one-quarter below the long-term average, while the apple harvest is forecast to be one-third lower than in 2025.