December 28, 2005

Russia to brace itself for poor grain harvest

Citing unfavourable weather, Russia's agriculture minister said that grain production in 2006 might decline to levels similar to 1971's poor grain tonnage.

Low soil moisture and a delay in the sowing of winter grains might lead to a lower harvest in the autumn of 2006, warned the minister, Alexei Gordeyev.

In 1971, poor weather and a reduced planting acreage for winter grain had depressed grain output by 43 percent to 17.2 million tonnes. This had forced the then Soviet Union to import large quantities of grain the following year, to stabilise the domestic market.

This time, poor autumn weather could significantly dampened the sowing of winter crops, cautioned the minister.

Also, it might be about time for Russia's cyclical downturn in grain production, which takes place once every eight years.

Russia's 2005 grain output is at 78.1 million tonnes. The country expects to exports to hold steady at about 10 million tonnes in 2005-06.