Cyprus is forecast to see a significant rise in barley yield this year, according to the monthly crop monitoring bulletin published on Monday by the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre (JRC).

The JRC predicts a yield of 2.28 tonnes per hectare for the island this year, compared with an average of 1.76 tonnes per hectare over the past five years and just under one tonne per hectare in 2025.

The figure represents an increase of 30 per cent on the five-year average and 144 per cent on last year’s output.

The JRC explained that its yield forecasts cover only crops occupying more than 10,000 hectares per country, meaning no figures were listed for Cyprus for several other crops, including wheat, maize, potatoes, sunflower and soybean.

The bulletin painted a bleaker picture for the continent, with prolonged heatwaves and drought significantly worsening prospects for summer crops across much of Europe.

Barley has been cultivated on Cyprus since at least the Bronze Age, having been mainly cultivated on the fertile plains of the Mesaoria.

Today cereal cultivation occupies around a quarter of Cyprus’ arable land, with barley the dominant crop, grown chiefly for animal feed.