A positive outlook for the 2024 flax harvest is being forecast by the Alliance of European Flax-Linen and Hemp, which reports that as the pulling period commences, favourable weather conditions look ideal for the upcoming harvest.

The latest estimates predict average straw yields of 6-7 tons per hectare for Spring flax – a significant milestone that has not been achieved since 2019. While winter flax, cultivated on 30,000 hectares for this harvest, shows slightly lower performance, the overall prospects remain strong. Flax straw, the raw material for fibre extraction during scutching, is expected to be abundant.

The area under cultivation for certified European Flax is projected to reach at least 180,000 hectares for both Spring and Winter combined, the highest since 2020. This expansion suggests that the European sector is poised to achieve record yields of flax straw in a single harvest.

While the exact amount of flax fibre to be extracted from this volume remains undetermined at this stage, the retting process, set to occur in the summer, will provide more detailed production output data.

Scutching of the current harvest is scheduled to begin in Autumn 2024 in French, Belgian and Dutch factories.

www.allianceflaxlinenhemp.eu