Medvedev: Russia may harvest record grain crop in 2016

GORKI, Moscow Region, Aug 15 (PRIME) -- Russian farmers harvested 70 million tonnes of grain as of August 12, which is an almost 33.3% increase on the year and a possible sign of a record harvest in 2016, Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said Monday at a meeting with his deputies.

“I cannot help but mention the incoming information, because it is a good piece of information and it is always pleasant to say something good. The Agriculture Ministry has data that 70 million tonnes of grain were threshed as of August 12, by almost a third more than last year,” he said.

Last year, the grain harvest was good. “But this year, if everything goes well and the weather does not fail us, we may receive a truly remarkable result. So, the intermediate result is not bad,” he said.

The Agriculture Ministry expects that Russian grain harvest will rise to 106–110 million tonnes in 2016 against 104.8 million tonnes in 2015.

End