Wheat Harvest Nears Completion, Average Yield at 4,400 kg/ha

Sofia, July 24 (BTA) - The wheat harvest is nearing completion a
 month after it started. The crop has been gathered in from
about 80 per cent of the area under wheat. Nearly 200,000
hectares less were cropped due to the poor weather, which will
affect the wheat balance, BTA learned from Roumyana Angelova,
Chairperson of the National Grain Producer Association.

This year about 1.7 million ha were cropped with wheat, and the
average yield will be 4,300 or 4,400 kg/ha. The Agriculture and
Food Ministry projected a slightly lower yield of 4,150 kg/ha.

These yields are certain to meet domestic requirements, which
are very low at 1.7 million or 1.8 million tonnes. In a good
year, Bulgaria produces up to 5.3 million tonnes of wheat, said
Angelova.

Wheat quality varies widely this year, according to Angelova.
Diseases were fewer than last year. Yields are very low where
the crops were inundated, and very high where things were
normal.

Yields are high in nearly all of Northern Bulgaria, Angelova
said. "I talked to producers on Wednesday who said they
harvested between 1,000 and 2,000 kg/ha of rapeseed and between
2,000 and 7,000 kg/ha of wheat from different plots."

Rapeseed yields also vary widely. Unfortunately, the area
cropped with rapeseed has decreased steadily, and this year's
average yield is lower than usual. Barley is also grown on a
smaller area this year but yields are good were the crop fared
well.