Grain Forecast Lowered

By The Moscow Times

July 31, 2012

Average crop yields in Russia, the world's third-biggest wheat exporter, are predicted to fall to 1.82 tons a hectare from 2.16 tons last year because of drought, Moscow-based consultancy ProZerno said Monday.

Drought this month in the Urals area and Siberia made ProZerno lower its crop forecasts, Vladimir Petrichenko, ProZerno's director, said by phone. Russian farmers will harvest 81 million to 82 million tons of grain, down from a May estimate of 93.2 million tons.

ProZerno lowered its forecast for the country's wheat crop to 44 million to 45 million tons, from a May estimate of 54.2 million tons. The U.S. Department of Agriculture sees Russia exporting 12 million tons of wheat this season.

(Bloomberg)

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