SovEcon estimates Russia's winter grain area sown for the 2005 harvest at around 13.5 million hectares, some 0.7 million hectares above last year's record low of 12.8 million hectares. The increase is coupled with the very good state of winter grain plantings in the southern regions, major winter wheat producing areas. The Southern federal district mainly accounts for the increase in the country's winter grain area in 2004.
At the same time, winter grain plantings in the Privolzhsk district (the Volga Valley area), which accounts for the lion's share of the winter rye area, have remained at a historical low of around 4 million hectares (Table 1).
It implies that the expansion of the winter wheat plantings chiefly accounts for the increase in the total winter grain area.
SovEcon's estimates Russia's winter wheat and rye area in 2004 to be 10.2-10.4 million hectares compared with 9.83 million hectares in 2003 and 2.55-2.7 million hectares compared with 2.4 million hectares, respectively.
A long period of warm weather in October and November, coupled with high soil moisture reserves, has favoured the plantings' development. Plantings in good conditions in Russia are estimated at 73 percent of the total winter crop area.
This is 4 percent up from last year and equals the 2001 record high percentage.
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