Russia grain crop. Photo courtesy RIA NovostiBy Maria Kolesnikova; editors: John Deane, Alastair Reed 

July 12 (Bloomberg) — Russia’s worst drought in a decade has damaged more than half of grain planted in 11 regions and hot, dry weather may continue for the rest of this month, a meteorologist said. “We don’t see much room for improvement in July,” said Anna Strashnaya, head of agro-meteorological forecasts at the Federal Hydrometeorological Service. Rains came too late in some areas, while conditions remained unfavorable in the worst-hit regions along the Volga River and in the Ural Mountains, she said in a telephone interview July 9. Soil drought has affected more than half of grain plantings in 11 regions along the Volga, in the Urals and central Russia, and yields in these areas will be at least 30 percent less than last year, the service said on its website late July 9. Heat will persist in most parts of central Russia through July 17, with temperatures reaching as high as 35 degrees Celsius (95 degrees Fahrenheit), the hydrometeorological service said on its website today. The agency forecast temperatures as high as 39 degrees Celsius in the Volga region and thunderstorms and rains in southern areas through July 14. The Agriculture Ministry reduced its forecast for the total grain crop by 5.6 percent to 85 million metric tons on July 5. Last year’s harvest came to 97 million tons. Fourteen regions along the Volga, in the Urals and central Russia have declared emergencies because of heat and drought. Emergencies may be extended to four more regions soon, the ministry said last week. Drought damaged 9.3 million hectares (22.9 million acres) of crops across the country, it said. “Drought affected most of the areas in the Volga region, where 50 percent to 70 percent of grain plantings, and sometimes more, were damaged,” Strashnaya said. “Productivity will be low, and yields won’t be much higher than in Saratov.” … The Volgograd region in the south, which accounts for 4.6 percent of the wheat harvest, continues to suffer from dry and hot weather, with temperatures as high as 35 degrees Celsius, Strashnaya said. Yields there will be “very bad, and only marginally better than in Saratov,” she said. … Siberia is the only region where the weather is “normal,” and the crop there could help to compensate for losses in other areas, she said.

Russia Drought Hurts Half of Grains in Stricken Areas

By Staff Writers
Moscow (AFP) July 9, 2010 Drought has destroyed nine million hectares (22 million acres) of crops in Russia and a state of emergency has been declared in 14 regions, a government official said Friday. Another three regions were also facing serious problems, deputy prime minister Viktor Zubkov added, Interfax reported. “It’s a lot,” said Zubkov of the lost production. “We have to ensure that the livestock do not suffer.” Russia has about 80 million hectares of cultivated land, but on Monday the agriculture ministry revised its 2010 forecast for cereal crop yields down to 85 million tonnes from 95 million. Zubkov nevertheless stressed that there would be no shortage of grain crops for the domestic market as Russia had 24 million tonnes of reserves, which could also be used to help the drought-hit regions. In 2009, production of cereal crops came to 97 million tonnes. The situation in Russia has already pushed up the price of grains on the European markets.

Drought destroys millions of hectares of Russian crops: govt