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Romania's total wheat crop almost 5.7 million tonnes

Romania's total wheat crop was close to 5.7 million tonnes, representing 86 percent of the original estimates of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MADR), but almost 10 percent higher than the 2009 production.

In spring this year MADR experts were forecasting a total wheat production of around 6.64 million tonnes, but now, as the harvest was completed all over the country, the wheat production stands just at 5,691,532 tonnes, according to final MADR data provided to Agerpres.

At the beginning of the harvest season, farmers were hopeful they would get a large wheat production this year, because weather conditions in winter and spring had been favorable to this culture, but heavy rains in June and July caused pre-harvest germination and made crop gathering in the optimal period impossible.

According to MADR, the yield per hectare this year was 2,778 kilograms, whereas the original estimates stood at 3,221 kg.

The average wheat production of large trading companies, specifically of the large-size wheat growers in the country south was between 3,300 and 3,500 kg per hectare, but in individual households the crop was no higher than 2,300 kg per hectare.

Compared to 2009, Romania's wheat crop is 9.62 percent higher (499,532 tonnes) although the sown surface this year was 2.048 million hectares, as to 2.202 million hectares in 2009.

According to MADR, more than 3.38 million tonnes of the 2010 wheat harvest are stored in specialized silos and 2,161 million tonnes are stored with individual households.Determinations are currently made at the Institute of Food Bio-resources (IBA) to check the quality of the wheat of this year's crop, because according to the farmers, more than 30 percent of the crop is unfit for bread making. For this reason, processors announced that they would have to import wheat and flour of adequate quality for domestic consumption and implicitly raise the price of bread.

Although international wheat quotes climbed steeply on international exchanges in early August, because of the crops standing below estimates all over Europe, and as a result of the wheat export banning measures set in place by Russia and Ukraine, they should not significantly influence the price of bread on the domestic market, say MADR officials.

A European Commission spokesperson said recently that Russia's embargo on grain exports would have almost no impact on the European Union.

'The EU imports less than one million tonnes of grain from Russia. The EU domestic grain production ranges between 280 and 300 million tonnes per year. Therefore, the impact on the European cereals market will be minimal, if not quasi nil,' spokesman Frédéric Vincent told a press conference. In addition, he stressed, the EU has 'large stocks of grain.'

The Russian government ordered an embargo on grain exports between August 15 to December 31, to offset increasing prices generated by the dip in crops following the scorching heat and to avoid risks related to the fluctuation of basic product costs.

Russia, the world's third largest wheat exporter, reduced to 60-65 million tonnes its estimates of the grain harvest in 2010, compared to 97 million tonnes in 2009.

Last year, Russia exported 21.4 million tones of grains and launched a broad campaign to increase its international market share.

Sursa: http://www.agerpres.ro/

Tags: wheat tonnes million harvest grain production total romanias almost