MOSCOW, May 3. /TASS/. Russia has acquired over 1 mln tons of grain for its intervention fund through purchases on the National Mercantile Exchange by now, the Ministry of Agriculture said in a statement.

"More than 1 mln tons of grain (969,600 tons of wheat, 33,000 tons of rye) have been added to the state fund since December," the statement reads.

Russian Agriculture Minister Dmitry Patrushev said earlier that the ministry planned purchasing interventions on the grain market in the volume of up to 2 mln tons, adding that global grain prices and high yield expectations put pressure on domestic grain prices.

Russia has been implementing state interventions on purchase and sale of grain since 2001 to regulate domestic prices.