June 2, 2009
Russia 2009 grain harvest seen 90 million tonnes versus 108.1 million tonnes in 2008
Russia is likely to harvest 90 million tonnes of grain this year compared with 108.1 million tonnes in 2008, the Agriculture Ministry said Monday (June 1).
The head of the Russian Grain Union, Arkady Zlachevsky, had previously forecast a harvest of 100 million tonnes this year.
The revised forecast is lower because the spring grain planting campaign has been slowed down by cold weather, which means Russia planted spring grains on 27.5 million hectares to May 30, 88 percent of the planned total area, 2 million hectares less than on May 30, 2008, according to figures from the Agriculture Ministry.
