August 13, 2010

Russian province turns to Belarus for grain amid drought

Russia's drought-hit grain growing province of Tatarstan may buy up to 0.5 million tonnes of feed grain in Belarus to support livestock producers, Tatarstan President Rustam Minnikhanov said on Thursday (Aug 12).

"We very much need feed grain and are examining a possibility to buy 100,000- 500,000 tonnes of feed grain as well as combined animal feed in Belarus," Minnikhanov told reporters after talks with Belarus Prime Minister Sergei Sidorsky.

Tatarstan, located on the Volga river, is one of 27 Russian regions that have declared a state of emergency because of a severe drought. It expects to harvest just 700,000 tonnes of grain this year instead of five million tonnes previously expected, Minnikhanov said.

Russia, formerly the third-largest wheat exporter, expects its grain harvest to shrink to 60-65 million tonnes this year from 97 million last year.

Belarus has so far harvested 6.3 million tonnes of grain from 87% of the area sown for this year's crop. Last year, Belarus produced 8.3 million tonnes of grain.