Russia: Wheat, barley crop forecasts increased due to favourable weather

Sovecon have increased their forecast for grain production in Russia this year by 3.1 million tonnes (compared to the previous month's estimate), bringing the total to 130.5 million tonnes. The upgrade was made due to improved prospects for winter and spring crops, APK-Inform reported on July 25.

"The wheat production forecast was further increased by 0.1 million tonnes, reaching 84.2 million tonnes. Overall, the forecast was raised by 3.5 million tonnes in July due to favourable weather for spring wheat in Siberia and the Urals and relatively high yields of winter wheat in the south," the report stated.

The forecast for Russian barley production was raised by 0.7 million tonnes to 19.3 million tonnes, owing to relatively high yields of winter barley in the south and favourable weather conditions in the Volga region.

At the same time, the corn harvest forecast was lowered by 1.2 million tonnes to 13.4 million tonnes due to dry and hot weather in southern Russia.

"Major weather models predict that unfavourable weather will persist in the near future, increasing the likelihood of further downward revisions to the forecast," the experts emphasized.