Latest information points to an about average cereal crop in 1998, down by some 2 million tonnes from the bumper harvest last year. Winter wheat plantings were reduced last autumn and plants were stressed during the winter by periods of frost and dry soil conditions. Good rains in late April and the middle of May improved the prospects for the winter wheat crops somewhat, but were not sufficient to replenish subsoil moisture reserves and thus the yield and quality of crops will still depend greatly on the weather in June. Latest official indications tentatively forecast wheat output at about 5 million tonnes, compared to 5.3 million tonnes in 1997. Maize planting this spring was completed in mid-May on about 1.1 million hectares, similar to the previous year�s area.