UPDATE: Russia may raise grain output to 205 mln tns by 2050

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SOCHI, Nov 18 (PRIME) -- Russia may increase its grain production to 205 million tonnes by 2050 if there is enough sowing area, fertilizer consumption and adequate equipment, Pyotr Chekmaryov, head of the Agriculture Ministry’s plant growing department, said on Friday during a grain forum.

“If everything goes as it should, if we use the necessary amount of fertilizers, if we have enough equipment, and if the sowing area is around 60 million hectares, we will be able to produce 200–205 million tonnes (of grain) with a crop yield of 35 hundredweights per hectare. This is Russia’s capability until 2050,” he said.

He said that the 2016 harvest of 117 million tonnes of grain in net weight translates into a grain export potential of 45 million tonnes from July 1 through June 30, 2017.

The U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization said that in 2010–2014 Russia was the fourth largest wheat producing country with output of 49.5 million tonnes of wheat per year. If the wheat production capacities of the U.S. do not rise this year, Russia will overtake its place and become the third largest wheat producer in the world, Chekmaryov said, adding that the ministry expects 2016 wheat harvest at 72 million tonnes.

Deputy Agriculture Minister Yevgeny Gromyko said that Russia plans to support exports of agricultural products like it does with exports of industrial and military products. The ministry submitted a final edition of its program for support of agricultural exports on Thursday and the government approved it.

“This sum is not large, but it is enough to launch serious and large-scale work,” he said, adding that Russia will comply with regulations of the World Trade Organization in a sense that the program does not contain direct support in the form of subsidies and donations.

“We just plan to improve the quality (of goods) of Russian exporters, including exporters of grain,” he added.

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