July 25, 2012

Belarus anticipates 8.8 million tonnes grain harvest in 2012

About 8.8 million tonnes of grain, except corn grain, are being expected by Belarus government to be harvested this year and does not plan to export grain this year, Deputy Agriculture Minister, Vasil Pawlowski told reporters in Minsk on Monday (July 23).

He commented if the weather remains favourable and everything is done properly, agricultural organisations are expected to have a grain harvest of 8.4 million-8.5 million tonnes, noting the rest of the expected amount of grain would come from private farmers and individuals.

The Belarusian grain industry is not export-oriented but if it harvests enough grain and a foreign country asks it to share some, it will be happy to lend its shoulder, Pawlowski added.

According to him, grain harvesting has already begun on a large scale, with crops having been gathered from about 9% of the sown area. The average per-hectare yield this year is 3,750 kilogrammes, 570 kilogrammes more than last year. The average yield exceeds 3,000 kilоgrammes per hectare in each of Belarus' six regions and some agricultural companies have even reached a yield of 8,000 kilogrammes. His prediction was the average per-hectare yield would eventually increase to up to 3,850 kilogrammes.

A total of 1.5 million tonnes of grain is to be supplied this year in the framework of the government's procurement programme, including 1.2 million tonnes for food production. Enough grain will probably be gathered to meet the procurement target and meet the demand for forage grain in full, he said.

He also said that Belarus needs a significant amount of grain to satisfy its own needs amid the government's ambitious plans to modernise and construct dairy farms this year. The country's cattle herd increased by 85,000 heads in the first half of 2012 and is projected to increase further by the end of the year. This year, the country's demand for fodder grain is estimated at 6.3 million tonnes.

Belarus also plans to cut its imports of wheat grown for human food, which increased from 6,000 tonnes in 2010 to 12,000 tonnes in 2011, Pawlowski said.

"We have sown a sufficient amount of land to wheat and expect to harvest 1.5 million-1.7 million tonnes of wheat used for human food," he added.