April 19, 2007

USDA: Russia seen to increase grain production in 2007

Good winter grain crops and improved agronomic practices in Russia has the US Department of Agriculture increase its grain production forecast in the country by 0.9 million metric tonnes (MMT) to reach 79.5 MMT.

According to the Russian Federation Grain and Feed Annual 2007 published by the USDA, Russia's winter grain crops will increase by 2.5 MMT to 3.0 MMT over last year's harvest. However, area planted to spring grains is seen to decline over the last year and as weather conditions only normalised in late spring and summer, spring grains is also likely to decrease from last year's level.

Wheat is seen to inch slightly by 45.8 MMT, up by 0.8 MMT from 2006. Barley, by contrast, will experience a minor decrease by 100,000 metric tonnes.

On the other hand, Russia's total grain imports are seen to plunge by 4 percent to 1.9 MMT and increased domestic demand will have grain exports drop by 12.4 MMT from the earlier projection of 12.6 MMT. Domestic feed consumption is also predicted to increase by 1.1 MMT.

For the full USDA report, please click here