BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

13/07/2007

Stavropol farmers harvest four million tonnes of grain

STAVROPOL, July 11 (Itar-Tass) -- Farmers of the Stavropol Territory have threshed four million tonnes of grain since the beginning of this harvesting season, an official at the territorial agriculture ministry told Itar-Tass on Friday.

Two-thirds of the crops have been harvested so far, the official said, adding that the farmers may hit a record and collect six million tonnes of grain this year.

This year's grain harvesting is faster than it was in previous years.

Russia's Agriculture Minister Alexei Gordeyev congratulated farmers of the Stavropol territory on the success.

"It is a good tradition of the Stavropol farmers who have been setting the tone for harvesting in Russia over the past five years," Gordeyev said in his telegram sent to the Governor Alexander Chernogorov on Wednesday.

Grain laboratory tests show that there are mainly wheat crops of the highest food quality, the official said.

Last year, the territory sold over one million tonnes of wheat to foreign countries, the official said, adding, this year, the territorial agriculture ministry plans to increase grain export.

A Belarusian governmental delegation that arrived in the Stavropol Territory on Wednesday was the first one to negotiate the purchase of 700,000 tonnes of new wheat crop.

"Belarus is going to buy 200,000 tonnes of milling wheat and 500,000 tonnes of feed wheat in the Stavropol Territory," the head of the delegation, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Food, Vasily Sedin said then back.

"The territory can meet all requests for grain," governor Chernogorov said, in turn, adding "This year, Stavropol may export 3 million tonnes of grain to Russian regions and abroad."

The territory received requests for big batches of wheat and barley from businessmen of Azerbaijan, Georgia, Turkey, Iran and other countries.

Source:

http://www.itar-tass.com/eng/level2.html?NewsID=11717284&PageNum=0