Harvesting in northern Moldova delayed by rain

Cereal crop harvesting in the northern districts of the country is expected to complete 5 to 7 days later than planned due to heavy rains, Info-Prim Neo reports. Agriculture & Food Industry Minister Anatolie Gorodenco told a news conference on Monday that 67 percent of wheat and barley have been harvested so far. The amounts of crops until present are as follows: 1.2 million tonnes of cereal crops, including 800,000 mln tonnes of wheat and 400,000 tonnes of barley, both fall and spring varieties; 23,600 tonnes of pea; and 116,000 tonnes of rape. Roughly 183,000 hectares of fields are yet to be harvested, The harvesting campaign is expected to end in approximately 10 workdays. The forecast amount of cereal crops is 1.4 million tonnes. To guarantee the country's food security there are needed about 450 tonnes of food wheat. This autumn the area of fields planted with wheat will decrease by some 20,000 hectares, while those planted with rape will rise by 70,000 hectares.