Drought - America Isn't Alone

Russian wheatfield ravaged by locusts and drought

Another giant grain exporter, Russia, is also being hammered by drought leaving Brits fearful of major food price increases.

Farmers in Russia are being crippled by severe drought, which has caused a potentially devastating drop in the country's grain production.
Fears are mounting that the country, which exports the cheapest wheat, will impose an export ban, pushing up the price of food globally.
Russia is forecast to produce 75million tons of grain this year – a 30 per cent drop in the country’s usual yield.

Jack Watts, senior analyst at HGCA the Home-Grown Cereals Authority, said: ‘If there is a longer term period of higher prices then this may well end up with higher food prices.’ 

Speaking to Radio 4’s Farming Today programme today, he said: ‘Two years ago Russia had a blanket export ban in place very quickly.
‘In 2012 the market is very fearful of this happening, there is no confirmation or real denial an export ban is going to happen, but the market is nervous based on a repeat of what we saw in 2010.’
The former Soviet Union is one of the world's biggest producers of wheat, barley  and rye.