August 19, 2011

 

Russia's 2011 grain crop to exceed 90 million tonnes

 

 

The 2011 grain harvest of Russia is likely to surpass 90 million tonnes, as the country reaped from 42% of the grain acreage sown for this year's crop, the country's chief weather forecaster said Thursday (Aug 18).

 

"The gross grain crop this year is going to be slightly above 90 million tonnes," Roman Vilfand, director of the Hydrometcentre weather forecasting service, told a news briefing.

 

The latest official harvest forecast was 85-90 million tonnes, compared to last year's drought-hit crop of 61 million.

 

Some analysts believe the crop may be bigger than officially believed, while others say the country is unlikely to reap more than 90 million tonnes.

 

Vilfand said that due to an abundance of rain, grain yields are expected to be above the average seen in the past five years.

 

Russia harvested 51.4 million tonnes of grain by bunker weight by August 17, up from 39.9 million tonnes by the same date last year and slightly down from the 53.8 million tonnes in 2009, the Agriculture Ministry said.

 

Grains have been harvested from 18.4 million hectares or from 42% of the sown area.

 

Average grain yields rose to 2.79 tonnes per hectare, up from 2.10 a year ago and from 2.71 in 2009, it said.

 

Total wheat crop by August 17 was 34.3 million tonnes by bunker weight and barley crop 9.9 million tonnes, the ministry said without providing a comparison to a year ago volumes.

 

Bunker weight, used to measure the crop in the course of the harvesting, is normally 5-7% higher than the clean weight obtained after grain is cleaned and dried, but the difference may be less in hot and dry years.

 

Vilfand said that the air will cool in the centre and northwest of the European part of Russia and rains and storms will begin on Thursday night.

 

"This is the last time we see 30 degrees (Celsius, 86 degrees Fahrenheit) this year," he said, adding that there still will be sunny days in September.

 

In the Central Federal District grains were harvested from 40% of the sown area, while in the Urals from just 2% and in Siberia from 3%, the Agriculture Ministry said.

 

In Western Siberia, in the Urals and in the regions along the Volga river the weather will be cool and in some regions early frosts are expected already in the end of August, Vilfand said.

 

In the south of European Russia the temperature will remain in the region of 35 degrees in the next three to four weeks, Vilfand said.

 

In the south the harvesting campaign was moving to its close with 81% of the sown area harvested in the Southern Federal District and 84% in the North Caucasus, the ministry said.