|
|
|
|
|
|
August 16, 2001
Russian total grain production for 2001/02 is estimated at 69.8 million tons, up from 65.5 million last year. Estimated wheat production is up 4.0 million tons from last year, to 38.5 million. Corn production is forecast to drop 35 percent from last year, to an estimated 1.0 million tons, following excessive July heat in European Russia.
The grain harvest is in full swing in European Russia, where nearly all of the country's winter wheat is grown, and yields are reported to be nearly 20 percent above last year. As of August 14, the harvest was roughly one-third complete. Dry July weather enabled the grain harvest to proceed at a rapid pace, but the accompanying heat likely had a significant negative effect on the yield potential of corn, which was advancing through tasseling and silking. The highest temperatures occurred in the North Caucasus and southern Volga regions, where most of Russia's corn is produced. Maximum temperatures repeatedly exceeded 30 degrees Celsius, the threshold for heat stress for reproductive corn. Estimated corn yield for 2001/02 was reduced sharply this month, from 1.76 to 1.33 tons per hectare; the yield in 2000/01 was 1.94 tons per hectare.
Spring barley and spring wheat were also subject to some heat stress in parts of the Central, lower Volga Valley, and Urals regions, but the crops likely escaped significant damage. Precipitation in these regions has been slightly below last year's levels. In Western Siberia, Russia's main spring wheat region, crop conditions have been generally favorable.
View current USDA estimates of grain production in the former Soviet Union.
For more information, contact Mark Lindeman with the Production Estimates and Crop Assessment Division on (202) 690-0143.
|
|
 |
|
| | Contact PECAD | FAS Home | USDA | | |
