Russian Wheat Production Struggles with Quality

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The USDA Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) has increased their forecast for Russian wheat production by two million tonnes to 85 million tonnes. Confirmed by the Rosstat forecast of 85.5 million tonnes, the greatest increases are expected in Volga Valley Federal District (up 0.4 tonnes), Siberian Federal District (up 0.4 tonnes), and the Central Federal District (up 0.3 tonnes). Wheat yields in 2017/18 of 3.12 tonnes per hectare are also up 16 percent from 2016/17. But as production booms, wheat quality remains low. The Russian Center of Grain Quality Assessment conducted an assessment on 45 million tonnes of wheat in December 2017. Results showed that a 63 percent share of wheat was of third and fourth grade quality, down from a 71.4 percent share in 2016. No first grade wheat was found in the survey, and second grade wheat comprised only a 0.1 percent share. Russian wheat protein content at an average 11.5 percent is significantly lower than the average 13.5 percent protein wheat content in the US. The wheat’s lower quality is mitigated by its drastically lower market price at approximately $60 per tonne compared to the $166 per tonne US wheat price. Gro Intelligence subscribers can use data and analytics to monitor Russian wheat production and its impacts on global markets.

Russian Wheat Production Boom
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