SARATOV, August 16. /TASS/. Russian agricultural producers have already harvested more than 73 mln metric tons of grain this year with grain quality above last-year indicators, Deputy Minister of Agriculture Andrey Razin told reporters.

"The harvesting campaign is in the proactive phase; more than 73 mln metric tons have already been threshed. Harvesting is rather challenging this year; the weather makes its adjustments. Nevertheless, we are generally satisfied with the pace," he said.

The grain quality is better than the last-year indicators this year, the deputy minister said. "More than 76% of grain, particularly for wheat, is Class 1-4, the food grade, as we see. This speaks of good results of our agricultural producers," Razin stressed.

The second large harvest in the Russian history was gathered in 2023, about 147 mln metric tons. The Ministry of Agriculture keeps the forecast for grain harvest in 2024 at the level of 132 mln metric tons, Minister Oksana Lut said in late June.