Don Agro International has reported a wheat harvest of 89,107 tonnes in 2022, which is 23.2% or 16,807 tonnes higher y-o-y and an all-time high for the group.
The record was already expected by the group in May due to its larger plant area and the trend in growing yields.
Of the harvest, 75,321 tonnes were produced by Don Agro LLC in the Rostov region, while the remaining 13,786 tonnes were harvested by Volgo-Agro LLC in the Volgograd region.
According to the group, its winter wheat yield in the Rostov region is 3.75 tonnes per hectare, which is 0.4 tonnes more than the average rate achieved by other agricultural companies in the same area as publicly reported by the relevant local district authority.
To accommodate the world’s rising demand for grain, Don Agro has increased its planted acreage of winter wheat by 4.7% from 24,032 hectares in 2021 to 25,157 hectares in 2022.
In the same filing, the group adds that it has continued implementing its environmental, social and governance (ESG) strategy, where the acreage planted to organic wheat has quadrupled from 11.0 hectares to 44.0 hectares. The group’s no-till farming area has also increased from 7,200 to 7,600 hectares.
“Over the years, we have been expanding our land area and improving our yield, with the single goal of producing a bigger harvest. Last year, we added 4,100 hectares of land by acquiring Rav Agro-Rost LLC, which led to a record winter wheat harvest of 72,300 tonnes. This year, the team worked hard to improve yields and achieved an all-time-high winter wheat harvest of 89,100 tonnes,” says Marat Devlet-Kildeyev, the CEO of Don Agro International.
“Our team made this possible by planning meticulously, investing in high-quality fertilizers and purchasing six new harvesters, which reduced spoilage. We intend to continue upgrading our equipment in our efforts to raise our production level by the year,” he adds.
As at 9.47am, shares in Don Agro are trading flat at 23.5 cents.