en.Wedoany.com Reported - The Russian Ministry of Agriculture (Минсельхоз) expects a bumper grain harvest in Russia this year, with the southern regions likely to perform particularly well. Minister of Agriculture Oksana Lut stated at the "All-Russian Field Day 2026" event that, based on crop conditions, the potential for a good harvest is strong; as of the reporting date, the country's grain harvest volume has reached 21 million tons, but the harvesting progress is lagging, with a shortfall of over 2.5 million hectares for grains, mainly due to weather affecting sowing and harvesting (citing a report by RIA Novosti).
Lut stated that 25 regions have entered the active phase of the harvest season. The central regions are lagging due to excessive rainfall preventing the normal start of harvesting; the southern regions have sufficient moisture and are expected to perform outstandingly; the situation is opposite in Siberia, where the Altai Krai has experienced high temperatures for over two months without rainfall, leading to poor vegetation growth and a decline in yields. Lut noted that, over the entire season, one domestic region will compensate for another.
Independent agricultural market expert Alexander Korbut stated that harvesting progress varies by region, with delays in the central regions, and rainfall in Tatarstan and the Urals also expected to hinder operations. Commenting to the Russian media outlet "Agricultural Investor," he said that all current indicators suggest the yield level will reach 139-140 million tons (including new regions), which is more than sufficient; if the weather does not cause disruptions, sunflowers will also yield a good harvest. Korbut believes that crop yields largely depend on weather conditions, followed by the availability of fuel for farmers.
At the beginning of last week, the analytical company ProZerno (ПроЗерно) lowered its grain and legume harvest forecast by 2.7 million tons to 134.7 million tons (excluding new regions). This forecast is 4.6% lower than in 2025 and 2.6% lower than the average of the past five years. Among these, wheat production may reach 86.85 million tons (over 91 million tons last year), barley 19.2 million tons (19.67 million tons), and corn 15.7 million tons (14.8 million tons). The analytical center SovEcon (СовЭкон) also lowered its wheat harvest forecast from 90.3 million tons to 88.9 million tons, with the revision related to a reduction in sown area from 26.4 million hectares to 25.8 million hectares. This would be the lowest total sown area since 2014; spring wheat sown area decreased from 10.5 million hectares to 9.9 million hectares, the lowest in recent decades; winter wheat sown area remained unchanged at 15.9 million hectares.
