Belarus: completed mass grain harvesting campaign

Minsk / BY. (ami) Belarus completed the mass harvesting campaign of grains. Agrarians harvested grains throughout 96,1 percent of the planned areas, declared Vladimir Grakun, the Head of the Main department of plant growing of the Ministry of Agriculture and Food of Belarus.

According to the specialist, to date agrarians of the country still continue the harvesting campaign of buckwheat and millet. All oblasts of Belarus started the harvesting campaign of maize for silos, Gomel oblast started the harvesting campaign of maize for grain. Agrarians started preparing the soil for winter grains and rapeseed sowing works.

The anomalous heat of the current summer affected the general condition of grain sowings. According to Grakun, grain sowings faced rather prompt ripening, grain humidity decreased by six to eight percent every day.

At the end of July 2010, Mikhail Rusyi, the Minister of Agriculture and Food of Belarus, declared that the forecasted grain production (taking into account maize volumes) totals nine million tonnes. Last week, the Minister reported to Alexander Lukashenko, the President of the State, that in 2010 the general grain production in the country (taking into account maize volumes) will total nearly eight million tonnes, or seven million tonnes without maize.

As of August 18, agrarians of Belarus harvested grains and leguminous plants throughout 2240,5 thousand hectares. Gomel oblast harvested crops throughout 99,8 percent of the planned harvesting areas, Mogilev oblast 98,8 percent, Brest oblast 96,8 percent, Minsk oblast 95,2 percent, Grodno oblast 94,6 percent, Vitebsk oblast 93,5 percent.

Agricultural organizations of the country produced 6’637,7 thousand tonnes of grains with the average yield of 29,7 centner per hectare. Grodno oblast demonstrated the best grain yield results, which totalled 40,5 centner per hectare. The general grain production in accompaniment with production of farming enterprises and other sowing areas of the population totalled 6’975,7 thousand tonnes (source: agrimarket.info).