RUSSIAN FEDERATION (29 September)
The cereal harvest in the main grain-producing regions of the Russian Federation is nearly complete, although the harvesting campaign has been slower than usual in much of the country. Aggregate cereal harvest is now estimated at 68.7 million tonnes, which is nearly 16 million tonnes lower than last year’s bumper harvest. This aggregate includes some 41 million tonnes of wheat, 15 million tonnes of barley and 5.7 million tonnes of rye. Severely cold winter conditions coupled with thin snow cover and an exceptionally dry spring compromised this year’s cereal harvest. In addition, abnormally heavy rains during the past couple of months have slowed the pace of harvesting and damaged large areas of spring wheat. Land preparation for the winter cereal planting is well under way, and higher cereal prices seem to have encouraged farmers to dedicate extra resources to cereals for harvest next year.
Aggregate cereal exports for the 2003/04 marketing year are forecast at 5.2 million tonnes, including 2.9 million tonnes of wheat and just over 2 million tonnes of barley. Aggregate cereal exports during 2002/03 marketing year amounted to almost 18.3 million tonnes, including 14.5 million tonnes of wheat and 3.5 million tonnes of barley.
Poor security and military operations continue to disrupt socio-economic activities in Chechnya. Targeted food aid, therefore, continues to be necessary for the internally displaced and vulnerable population. WFP has began distributing about 34 011 tonnes of basic food commodities to some 290 500 internally displaced and vulnerable populations in Chechnya and Ingushetia.