March 1, 2004

Russia 2004 Grain Harvest Forecast Up

Russia's grain harvest in 2004 is forecast to reach 75-80 million metric tons in clean weight, up from the January forecast of 75-80 million tons in bunker weight, an agriculture ministry official said in Moscow on Friday.
 
Bunker weight, which is weight before the grain has been cleaned, is normally 7%-8% greater than clean weight.
 
The increased forecast is due to a lesser than expected damage to winter crops and to a planned increase in the spring wheat planted area.
 
In 2003 Russia harvested 67.2 million tons of grain in clean weight.