July 9, 2009
Russia lowers 2009 grain harvest forecast to 85 million tonnes
Russia is likely to harvest 85 million tonnes of grain this year and not 90 million tonnes as was forecast earlier, Deputy Agriculture Minister Sergey Korolev said in Moscow Wednesday (Jul 8) as quoted by the agriculture ministry's press service.
Russia harvested 108.1 million tonnes of grain in 2008.
The lower forecast for this year is due to the worsening macroeconomic situation and cold weather that slowed down the spring grain planting campaign so that Russia planted spring grains on 27.5 million hectares to May 30, 88 percent of the planned total area, and two million hectares less than on May 30, 2008, according to the agriculture ministry's figures.
