UPDATE 1-Drought in Russia's Rostov not seen affecting total crop forecast, agriculture ministry says

Drought in the Rostov region, Russia's top wheat and grain producing region in 2024, is not seen affecting the overall grain harvest in Russia, Agriculture Minister Oksana Lut said on Friday, the state RIA news agency reported.

Rostov, which lost up to 30% of its crop last year because of bad weather, is on track to lose 20% of its crop this year, according to the local government's estimates. "The most challenging conditions are in the Rostov region with very low yields due to the drought. For now, the region is providing forecasts that are not too pessimistic, but we hope that our agricultural producers will gather all they can," Lut said.

"Of course, this does not affect the overall indicators for the country, but it will certainly depend on how the agricultural producers in the Rostov region fare. We will monitor this and provide assistance," she added. Lut was also quoted as saying that the harvesting campaign, which kicked off in Russia last month, was proceeding slower than last year due to heavy rains in central regions. She said that farmers had harvested 4 million tons of grain so far.

"The harvest is proceeding with difficulty," Lut said. Lut reiterated the 2025 grain crop forecast of 135 million metric tons, more than last year's 130 million tons, and the wheat crop forecast of about 90 million tons.

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