Drought ruining crops in Russia

MOSCOW, July 26 (UPI) -- A drought in Russia is destroying the country's 2012 grain harvest, the Russian Agricultural Ministry said Thursday.

In the Krasnodar territory, in southernmost Russia on the Black Sea, the first to report figures, the grain crop is about a third of last year's totals, the ministry said.

"Such an unfavorable year has not been witnessed since the second world war," said Yuri Tkachenko, head of the Krasnodar weather forecasting center.

The immediate effect of the lowered crop yield is a severe reduction in Russian exports of grain and corn, Russian news service ITAR-Tass reported Thursday.