IKAR in Mass and Industry Media

Russia Reaps 24.6 Million Metric Tons of Wheat So Far

Bloomberg

July 29 (Bloomberg) -- Russian farmers reaped 24.6 million metric tons of wheat as of today, down 700,000 tons from a year earlier, the Agriculture Ministry said.

Harvesting of the grain covered 9.6 million hectares (23.7 million acres), 1 million hectares more than last year, the ministry said today on its website. The average yield dropped to 2.56 tons a hectare from 2.92 tons last year.

Russia’s wheat crop may fall 24 percent from the prior year to as little as 47 million tons because of a drought and lower yields, the Institute for Agricultural Market Studies said today. National exports of the grain may almost halve from a year earlier to 9.5 million tons, said the Moscow-based institute, also known as IKAR.

The overall grain harvest came to 33 million tons as of today, up 1.6 million tons from last season, as hot weather accelerated crop-gathering, the ministry said. Reaping of barley totals 4.2 million tons so far, it said.

Russia’s grain harvest may fall below 70 million tons as yields drop amid the worst drought in at least a decade, Moscow- based researcher SovEcon said July 27.

Wheat prices are heading for the biggest monthly gain since 1973, on concern that a crop-damaging drought in Russia and parts of Europe will curb exports, lifting demand for U.S. supplies.

08.08.10

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