Information for fruit and vegetables business in CIS
Russia: winter crops are mostly in good condition
According to information from Russian Centre for Hydro-Meteorology (weather service), the wintering of crops in the country's main cereal growing regions has passed off predominantly in fair conditions.
As per the whole territory of the country, the winter crops are expected to enter spring in a bad condition (with rarification rate of more than 50 percent of plants) on 7 to 9 percent of the total sown area of winter cereals and perennial grasses, which is below the average statistic values for the last 5 to 7 years. As per the Federal Districts, this index of bad crop condition will make 5 to 8 percent in the Central one, 3 to 5 percent in the Southern, 12 to 15 percent in the Volga and 9 to 14 percent in the Ural and Siberian FD's.
By the start of vegetation period, good stocks of productive moisture (150 to 200 mm and over, i.e. 120 to 150 percent of the norm) are expected in the metre soil layer on dominating territory of the European part of Russia.
According to agriculture ministry, total sown area of winter crops in Russia has been 14.0 million hectares in this season - 1 million hectares up from the sown area of the 2003/04.