Russia Risks Drop in Wheat Planting on Bad Weather and Tax Worry

Russia’s near-record wheat prices may not be enough to stop a drop in plantings that will contribute to a global shortfall of the grain.

A dry summer hampered sowing in parts of Russia, while the uncertainty of a floating export tax introduced this year is deterring farmers from growing more. Consultant SovEcon expects the total winter crops area -- the bulk of which is wheat -- to fall as much as 1 million hectares (2.5 million acres) this year, the first decline in four years.

In the past two decades, Russia went from being reliant on wheat imports to an ...