December 22, 2010

Russian district to have grain surplus on swine fever

Russia's Southern Federal District will gather a grain surplus of two million to five million tonnes because of African swine fever outbreak, the country's food safety agency said.

"There will be a catastrophic grain surplus in the Southern Federal District," said Nikolai Vlasov, deputy chief of the agency, Rosselkhoznadzor.

Pig deaths caused by African swine fever were recorded in more than 70 locations across the district, Vlasov said. The disease may be transmitted on the surface of grains, he said.