Weather set to hit harvest in Russia's largest grain region

By Olga Popova and Gleb Bryanski

MOSCOW (Reuters) -High temperatures and a lack of rain over the coming months are expected to deplete the harvest in Russia's largest grain region Rostov, the head of the local grain lobby group said after a farming emergency was declared.

Rostov Governor Yuri Slyusar issued a decree on May 19 introducing the state of emergency for farming after spring frosts and ordered local authorities to evaluate the damage.

The declaration allows farmers to seek compensation. Insurance payments to farmers linked to bad weather grew by 76% in 2024.

Apart from the frosts, a lack of rain is expected to deplete the harvest further, Anatoly Kolchik, head of the local branch of the Russian Grain Union lobby group, told a local edition of the Vedomosti daily on Tuesday.

"The problems affected not only winter crops but also spring crops. They simply won't have enough time to gain the necessary strength," Kolchik was quoted as saying, adding that only the upper layers of soil had sufficient moisture.

Andrei Sizov from Sovecon consultancy also cited the lack of rain as the biggest threat to crops in Rostov and that yields were set to decline.

"Overall, the situation has improved with the recent rainfall, but it's far from sufficient. The potential yield is below average," Sizov said.

Rostov became the third Russian grain-producing region to declare a farming emergency after frosts in late April and May. The others were Voronezh and Belgorod.

The region's grain harvest fell by 22% last year after Rostov was hit by spring frosts and then by drought, with the wheat harvest declining by 38%.

The grain harvest for the whole of Russia, the world's biggest wheat exporter, declined by almost 14% in 2024.

In February local authorities forecast this year's harvest in Rostov would be 13.7 million metric tons, 20% more than in 2024.

"The situation this year remains tense, both in terms of weather and economic parameters," Rostov's First Deputy Agriculture Minister Olga Gorbaneva said during the public hearing of the region's budget.

Gorbaneva said the region's agricultural sector profit margin fell to 8% in 2024 from 16% the previous year. She also said that grain farming costs rose by 35% last year while revenue rose by 13%.

Russia's Agriculture Minister Oksana Lut said last week that crop damage from May frosts is not significant this year and is estimated at only about 10% of last year's damage. She also said that a lack of moisture in the soil was the next big risk.

($1 = 80.8500 roubles)

(Reporting by Olga Popova and Gleb BryanskiEditing by Barbara Lewis and David Goodman)