Russia maintains grain harvest forecast despite bad weather

Moscow | Reuters—Russia has maintained its official grain harvest forecast for this year at 132 million metric tons despite adverse weather conditions across many grain-producing regions, said Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Patrushev, who oversees the agriculture sector.

Extreme weather events such as early spring frosts, floods, and summer heat have affected this year’s harvest outlook in some key producing areas of Russia, the world’s biggest wheat exporter.

“Despite the extremely challenging climatic conditions of 2024, the grain harvest forecast remains at 132 million tons,” Patrushev told an industry meeting. This is down from a record 158 million tons in 2022 and 145 million tons last year.

The agriculture ministry officials have said earlier that the current forecast can be revised depending on the progress of the harvest.

Patrushev said farmers in 55 regions of Russia have begun harvesting the new crop, and the pace of harvesting is twice as fast as last year, with 40 per cent of the grain and legume fields already harvested and almost 64 million tons collected.

—Reporting for Reuters by Gleb Bryanski