December 21, 2005

Belarus harvests 6.4 million tonnes of grain in 2005 

Belarus in 2005 harvested 6.4 million tonnes of grain in clean weight, 8 percent less than in 2004, the statistics ministry said Tuesday.

The average yield in 2004 fell to 2.81 tonnes/hectare from 2.96 tonnes/hectare in 2004.

The lower harvest this year is explained by the fact that the major grain producing areas of Belarus suffered from frosts in the spring, which were followed by heavy rains. To compound that, strong winds damaged crops in early August.

Currently the country's state reserve holds one million tonnes of grain, which is sufficient to last until the next harvest.