June 25, 2008

Russia begins 2008 grain harvest, higher yields expected on larger acreage

Russia's southern regions have begun harvesting 2008 grain, with 17,600 hectares harvested to June 24 and 73,300 tonnes of grain being harvested with the average yield of 4.18 tonnes a hectare, the agriculture ministry reported Tuesday (June 24, 2008 ).

Agriculture Minister Alexey Gordeyev said earlier the grain planted area this year increased by about 1.5 million hectares compared with 2007 and Russia planned to harvest 85 million tonnes of grain this year, three million tonnes more than in 2007.

The mass grain harvesting will begin in the south of Russia within the first ten days of July.

Last year, harvesting in Russia began about 10 days earlier than normal because of unusually hot weather, which stimulated faster developments of crops while reducing yields, with 3.1 million tonnes of grain harvested to July 2 with the average yield of 3.1 tonnes a hectare.