Russia's grain harvest at more than 110 mln tonnes to date, including 83.5 mln tonnes of wheat - agriculture minister

MOSCOW. Sept 4 (Interfax) - Russia has harvested more than 110 million tonnes of grain to date, including 83.5 million tonnes of wheat, Agriculture Minister Oksana Lut said at a meeting of the operational headquarters for conducting seasonal field work.

"Today, all our yield indicators across the country are higher than last year's; about 70% of the areas under grain and leguminous crops have been threshed, and we have harvested more than 110 million tonnes of grain. This is 10.5 million tonnes more than last year. [A total of] 83.5 million tonnes of wheat has already been harvested. Our domestic market is therefore already fully provided with the required amount of wheat and grains," Lut said.

Harvesting work is underway in all regions, she said.

The harvest of oilseed crops is also in its active phase, with 3.3 million tonnes already harvested, Lut said. The harvesting of sugar beet, potatoes and open-ground vegetables has begun.

"Overall, our expectations for the year are quite good. We are expecting, on average, a fairly good harvest across all crops," she said.

Assessing the situation with the provision of fuel to agricultural producers, Lut said that the situation has been stabilized thanks to the measures promptly adopted by the government. "I emphasize once again that the issue of providing agricultural producers with fuel is under the personal control of [Deputy Prime Minister] Dmitry Nikolayevich Patrushev. We have corresponding instructions from the Russian president on the priority provision of fuel to the agricultural sector. Here, together with the Energy Ministry, we regulate the situation in real time, on a daily basis if issues arise," Lut said.