France's farm ministry lowered its estimate of the country's 2019 soft wheat production due a downward area revision, but still pegged the crop as the second-largest on record. Production of soft wheat, France's main cereal crop, was put at 39.5 million tonnes, down from 39.7 million estimated a month ago, reflecting a 38,000 hectare reduction to the harvested area on the basis of farmer declarations to the European Union. That would nonetheless be 16% above last year's volume and 11.8% higher than the average of the past five years. This year's production level also remained France's second-biggest wheat crop after a record 40.9 million tonnes in 2015.