Kazakhstan: Barley area may be 1.6 mln ha this year

Kazakhstan's farmers have planted about 300,000 hectares (741,300 acres) of wheat so far and may sow a total 13 million hectares of the grain, farm adviser Agritel forecast earlier this week.

Spring planting in the country, which accounts for more than 95 percent of crop area, is just starting, the Paris-based company wrote on its website. Kazakhstan's barley area may be 1.6 million hectares, Agritel predicted.

The country harvested 12.4 million hectares of wheat and 1.6 million hectares of barley last year, with production of 9.84 million tons and 1.5 million tons respectively after drought hurt yields, U.S. Department of Agriculture data show.

In Kazakhstan's three main grain-growing regions of the country, soil-water reserves are improved compared to last year, Agritel said.

26 April, 2013