IKAR in Mass and Industry Media

Russia May Export Grain With 85 Million-Ton Crop, Official Says

Bloomberg

Feb. 1 (Bloomberg) -- Russia may restart grain exports if this year's harvest reaches 85 million metric tons, Deputy Agriculture Minister Sergei Korolev said.

``If the Russian grain harvest is 85 million tons, Russia has all chances to restore its export potential and resume exports,'' he said today at a conference in Moscow organized by the Institute for Agricultural Market Studies.

Korolev estimated carry-over grain stocks at more than 10 million tons as of July 1 and domestic consumption at between 72 million and 74 million tons. The Agriculture Ministry estimates that farmers have 95 percent of the seed needed for spring grain planting, and the government will lobby for favorable bank loans to producers to buy more seed, he said.

Russia's grain harvest may reach 85 million to 87 million tons this year, the ministry said Jan. 25. The government banned cereal exports last August because of the country's worst drought in at least half a century.

09.02.11

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