November 1, 2012

Russia's grain exports reached nearly 1.2 million tonnes

In the first 24 days of October, Russia exported almost 1.2 million tonnes of the cereal.

Total grain exports reached almost 1.8 million tonnes in the period, including 277,200 tonnes of barley, 257,100 tonnes of corn and 57,800 tonnes of other grains, the agriculture ministry's press service said in an e-mailed statement.

Grain exports for the season, which started July 1, reached 9.8 million tonnes, the ministry said.

Russia's crops have been seared by drought this year. Farmers harvested 72 million tonnes of grain before drying and cleaning from 98% of the sown area as of October 23, down 24% from a year earlier, according to the statement.

Yields fell 19% to 1.88 tonnes a hectare (2.47 acres) compared with a year earlier, it said. Grain stocks dropped about 27% to 35.8 million tonnes as of October 1 compared with a year earlier and are almost 14% down from the same date in 2010, it said.

Wheat for December delivery was down 0.3% at US$8.555 a bushel on the Chicago Board of Trade by 8:50 p.m. Moscow time. The price has advanced 31% this year.