Concerns are being raised about this year’s grain harvest among Russian farmers and analysts as meteorologists forecast dry spring weather with little rain expected in the next two weeks, Reuters reported.
A larger crop is still expected in 2020 than a year ago as farmers sowed a bigger area with winter grains, and their sowings remain in a healthy state after a mild winter. Russia is the world’s largest wheat exporter.
However, the lack of rain in the main grain exporting southern regions is starting to support Russian wheat prices, Dmitry Rylko at agriculture consultancy IKAR said, adding that rains were “badly needed” after a dry March.
Another influential consultancy, SovEcon, said the weather remained unfavorable for the new crop.
“The crops are still in good shape but ample precipitation will be needed in the next few weeks, especially in Russia’s south,” it said.
The weather was dry in the majority of winter wheat regions last week. The situation is better in the central and Volga regions as more precipitation is expected there, SovEcon added.
The spring grain sowing in Russia has been running ahead of last year’s pace due to the early arrival of spring weather. As of April 10, farmers had sown spring grains on 3.5 million hectares, or 12% of the total area, compared with 1.6 million hectares a year ago.
