Russia Set for Record Grain Crop, But Lacks Proper Storage
Russia is on pace to see its largest grain crop in post-Soviet history this season but the country is also lacking adequate grain storage causing concern among the industry.
The country is expected to see a grain harvest of between 114 and 118 million tons including 69.5 million tons of wheat, prompting the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to state that it forecasts Russia unseating the EU as the world’s top wheat exporter for the 2016/17 marketing year.
However, despite Russia's 120 million tons grain storage capacity, only 40 percent of that storage is able to store high quality grain.
The situation has led agricultural groups and leaders including Arkady Zlockevsky, the head of Russia’s Grain Union to call upon the government to rescind its wheat export tax, which he states is currently cutting farmer’s revenue by $782 million.
In response, the country’s agriculture ministry countered that in their estimation there will only be a shortage of storage in certain localized regions if the total grain crop exceeds 115 million tons.
.png)