Russia may import as much as 6 million metric tons of grain in the marketing year that ends in June because of the country’s worst drought in 50 years, SovEcon said Thursday.

Wheat imports may come to 1.5 million tons, while barley deliveries may be 1.8 million tons, SovEcon managing director Andrei Sizov Jr. said.

SovEcon also cut its wheat-crop forecast to 41.5 million tons from an earlier estimate of 43 million to 44 million tons because of the drought, he said. Its barley crop estimate of 8.9 million tons compared with a prior forecast of 8.7 million to 9.3 million tons.

(Bloomberg)