September 10 2003, 12:29

Russia's AgMin will not review grain crop forecast so far

For the time being Russia's Agriculture Ministry is not going to revise its grain crop forecast for this year, Russia's Deputy Prime Minister, the Minister of Agriculture Aleksey Gordeyev told journalists.

The Ministry's forecast is 70 million tonnes.

Up to the moment the harvest has been completed on 55 to 57 percent of the areas, and the amount of harvested grain has been about 53 million tonnes in bunker weight, Gordeyev said.

He said that the current year had been characterised by extremely complicated weather conditions. In the period of crop growth Russia's main grain growing regions suffered from severe droughts, and now, in the period of harvest, the weather is rainy. Nevertheless, the minister said, if good and sunny weather keeps for two weeks from now, the 70-million tonne crop forecast will be surely fulfilled.

More exact figures of grain crop will have been known by October 5, when the harvest is mostly finished, Gordeyev said. If the crop is in line with the forecast, this will allow directing about 5 million tonnes for export, he said.

He said the priority export destinations for Russia would be Ukraine and Moldova, which had applied to Russian government with a request of food assistance.