MOSCOW, August 10. /TASS/. The harvest of grain and leguminous crops in Russia since the beginning of 2026 has exceeded 72 million tonnes, surpassing last year's figure, the Agriculture Ministry reported.

"To date, 18.6 million hectares of grain and leguminous crops have been threshed nationwide. Over 72 million tonnes have been harvested, exceeding last year's figure for the same date. The work is underway ahead of the 2025 pace in the Southern, Northwestern, Ural, and Siberian Federal Districts," the ministry said in a statement.

Meanwhile, the wheat harvest, Russia’s key agricultural crop, has passed the halfway mark, the ministry noted. In particular, over 60 million tonnes have been harvested from 14.8 million hectares to date, which is 6 million tonnes more than the same period last year.

The statement highlights that the average wheat yield has significantly increased this year, reaching 4.1 tonnes per hectare (41 centners/ha). The leaders in terms of yield are the Krasnodar Region, as well as the Bryansk, Kursk, and Kaliningrad regions, where farmers harvest around 6.0 tonnes (60 centners) of grain per hectare.

"These results are partly driven by systematic efforts of agricultural producers to increase productivity, including the use of modern breeding achievements, fertilizers, plant protection products, digital technologies, and other solutions," the ministry added.