Reports from the
Volga region are now suggesting drought and heat have killed 160,000ha of crop
and the regional government has announced a state of emergency.
The official government
announcement fails to mention which crops have been affected so later this week
I'm driving there to investigate.
I will write up a
report of our findings available to anyone who contributes to our overheads.
The Volga region
grows about 6% of Russia’s wheat crop so any losses here could be significant
and I doubt if the effect is limited to the oblast borders so we will go further
south towards Stavropol and east in to Rostov to see what the conditions are
like there.
As previously
reported Rostov is already suggesting yields will be down 20% on last year due
to the dry autumn and if that is compounded by dry hot weather it could go
lower still.
Rostov grows about 17%
of the countries wheat crop so that would be significant.
If you think this
would be of use to you and are willing to contribute say £100 (or less or more
depending on how you value the information) then drop me a line to discuss and
I’ll arrange an invoice and sign you up.