AgMin ups 2013 wheat harvest forecast to 50-54 mln tonnes - Fyodorov
MOSCOW. June 11 (Interfax) - The Russian Agriculture Ministry has increased its 2013 wheat harvest forecast to 50-54 million tonnes.
"We now expect, per the forecast, from 50 to 54 million tonnes of wheat from an overall harvest of 95 million tonnes or the 93 million tonnes that experts forecast," Agriculture Minister Nikolai Fyodorov said during an online interview at Gazeta.ru on Tuesday. "That is a good stock of wheat to satisfy our needs," he said.
The ministry had previously been forecasting a wheat harvest of 40-50 tonnes.
Russia harvested 37.7 million tonnes of wheat in 2012, Fyodorov noted.
The minister said his ministry is maintaining the grain harvest target at no less than 95 million tonnes, although experts are predicting from 90 to 93 million tonnes, he said.
Russia's gross grain harvest last year weighed in at 70.9 million tonnes.