August 27, 2007

Russia can export 10 million tonnes 2007/08 grain
 

Russia can export about 10 million tonnes of grain harvested this year, Agriculture Minister Alexey Gordeyev said Friday (Aug 24) in St. Petersburg as quoted by the agriculture ministry's press service.

Gordeyev said the 2007/08 export forecast was based on the estimate for this year's grain harvest of 76 million tonnes.

Gordeyev said to date Russia harvested 52 million tonnes of grain, which was five million tonnes more than on the same date last year.

He said the quality of the harvested grain was "no worse than last year."

Goirdeyev also said the agriculture ministry had stocks of 1.5 million tonnes of milling grain and could carry out intervention sales at any moment.

However, he insisted that intervention sales at this time were inappropriate, as there was no grain deficit. He said grain intervention sales would make sense in conjunction with other instruments available to the government, such as an imposition of limitations on grain export, should it be necessary.

Gordeyev also said the proposal of the Russian agriculture ministry to create an international grain organisation similar to OPEC had been supported by Ukraine and Kazakhstan, while the United States was considering the proposal. In early September, the agriculture ministry plans to conduct similar negotiations with Australia, Gordeyev added.