MOSCOW (Reuters) — Russia’s 2015 grain crop may come in at up to 100 million tonnes, the high end of a previous forecast range, after winter left plantings in a better condition, Agriculture Minister Nikolai Fyodorov said.
“In general, there are reasons to consider the situation as satisfactory,” Fyodorov told President Vladimir Putin during a meeting of senior government officials on Wednesday.
“The area of winter grains, which were hit during the autumn, is being reduced,” the minister added.
Last autumn, amid cold weather and a lack of rain, Russian farmers sowed 41.5 million acres for winter grains, up five percent year on year.
Previously, the ministry had said that about 21 percent of winter grains were in bad condition and expected the 2015 grain crop to range from 85 million to 100 million tonnes.
However, the latest data showed an improved condition of winter grains on more than 988,000 acres of land in Russia’s southern federal district, where the country’s main wheat exporting regions are based, Fyodorov said.
“This adds more than two million tonnes of grains,” he said.
