Russia's 2006 grain harvest will fall to 70-73 million tonnes from 78.2 million tonnes last year, the Agriculture Minister said on Friday, and analysts said the lower-than-expected forecast would help bolster prices.
Agriculture Minister Alexei Gordeyev said in a statement Russia's cold winter would affect the crop and also noted weather forecasters had not ruled out a drier than usual summer in some parts of southern Russia and the Volga region. "This forecast was lower than the market expected," said Andrei Sizov Sr., president and CEO of analyst group SovEcon.
The Agriculture Ministry's previous forecast, announced on March 22, said Russia would harvest 70-77 million tonnes.
The latest forecast was preliminary and a more exact figure could be available near the end of June, the ministry quoted Gordeyev as saying.