Bunker weight grain harvest 74-75 mln tonnes, barn weight 71 mln tonnes - minister
MOSCOW. Oct 9 (Interfax) - Russia will have a bunker weight grain harvest of 74 million-75 million tonnes in 2012 and a barn weight harvest of 71 million tonnes or slightly more, Agriculture Minister Nikolai Fyodorov told a press conference at the Interfax head office.
Fyodorov said farmers had brought in 71 million tonnes of grain - 39.2 million tonnes of it wheat - as of October 8. "We're approaching the parameters we want, but it's very hard, the rain is incessant in the Volga and Central regions," Fyodorov said.
"There'll clearly be losses," he said.
The wheat harvest as of October 8 was "in the framework of our forecasts [for 40 million-42 million tonnes made in August]," Fyodorov said. "There's still wheat in the fields, it is being gathered, including in Primorye, but it is very difficult [because of the rains]. I'd like to think it'll reach 40 million tonnes," he said.
Crop yield this year is running at 18.8 centners per hectare, versus 23.1 for the same period last year and 18.9 in 2010, when the harvest was hard-hit by drought, he said.
This year's barley harvest is nearing 14.5 million tonnes. There has been 4.5 million tonnes of corn harvested, but only half the land planted with it has been worked. "A harvest of seven to eight million tonnes can be expected," Fyodorov said.
Seventy percent of the land planted with rise has already been worked, producing around 1 million tonnes versus last year's roughly 600,000 tonnes. "We have a record this year for rice exports. This is good for producers, otherwise, prices will fall," the minister said, adding that the country's rice requirements will be fully met.
Fyodorov also said that Russia has already exported more than a million tonnes of vegetable oil. That is an achievement, since sunflower has to this point been exported. Exports will amount to 1.6 million tonnes, he predicted. "This is a new word in Russian export policy and agriculture complex practice. It is a new subject, which says that we are becoming a good exporter of agricultural products," he said.
Russia's beet sugar export potential will hold at up to 200,000 tonnes, Fyodorov said.
Russia harvested 94.2 million tonnes of grain in 2011.
