According to the Bulletin on Russia, high temperatures and scarce precipitation in southern Russia have negatively affected water supply and biomass accumulation of winter cereals during the flowering and grain-filling periods. In the important spring cereal producing regions, more towards the north-east, cold and wet weather conditions affected the spring sowing campaign, resulting in delayed crop development and weaker biomass accumulation than usual. At country level, the yield outlook for winter wheat and spring cereals is around the five-year average but well below both last year’s levels and the historical trend.
In Kazakhstan, crops in the eastern and southern regions are in good shape, as daily temperatures fluctuated around the long-term average and precipitation was satisfactory. In the northern half of the country, colder-than-usual thermal conditions and above-average precipitation hampered the sowing of spring crops, and caused a considerable delay to the emergence and early development of spring cereals. These crops will need a warm summer to reach maturity in time to enable a successful completion of the harvest. Nevertheless, at country level, the yield forecasts for all crops are above the five-year average and close to or slightly above the historical trend.