MOSCOW (Reuters) — Russia’s grain crop may shrink by up to 14 percent in 2015 from near-record levels this year due to a lack of moisture in the soil after a hot and dry summer, agriculture consultancy SovEcon said on Friday.
SovEcon said the lack of moisture had already resulted in the weaker development of winter grains.
“Russia’s winter planting campaign is almost over. Crops are in an extremely weak condition, the country is likely to significantly decrease 2015 grain production,” the analytical firm said in a note to Reuters.
“Weak plants are less resistant to low temperatures, thus the risk of increased winter kill losses is quite significant.”
SovEcon said the total grain crop in Russia may fall below 90 million tonnes next year, while the wheat harvest may be less than 50 million tonnes, compared with an estimate of up to 105 million tonnes and 59 million tonnes this year respectively.
