Russia's wheat harvest hits 90 million tons as Black Sea attacks continue
Russia struck four ships near Ukrainian ports on Friday, hours after reporting its wheat crop total
Published
Russia's Agriculture Ministry said the country's wheat harvest has reached 90 million tons.
The announcement came on the same day Russia struck four ships in the Black Sea near Ukrainian ports. Russia also said it struck a cargo ship in Odesa. Both attacks follow a Turkish proposal, still pending in Moscow and Kyiv, to halt strikes on Black Sea shipping. A diplomatic source cited by AFP said Turkey put the plan to both countries on Thursday.
Russia is one of the world's largest wheat exporters, and its harvest size normally carries weight in global grain markets. But traders have kept prices elevated this year mainly because of the Black Sea disruptions and the wider war risk, not because of any shortage of supply. Friday's strikes suggest that risk has not eased.
That leaves the record harvest largely disconnected from what is actually moving prices. Until shipping routes through the Black Sea stabilize, the size of Russia's crop is unlikely to change the calculus for buyers or sellers, and the ministry's figure is being read by markets as neutral for now.