Russia may import 6 mln T grain in 2010/11-analyst

MOSCOW Aug 26 (Reuters) - Russia, the world's former No.3 wheat exporter, may need to import up to six million tonnes of grain in the current 2010/11 crop year to compensate for a severe drought, a leading Russian analyst said on Thursday.

SovEcon expects wheat imports to be 1.5 million tonnes and barley imports 1.8 million tonnes, Andrei Sizov Sr., CEO of SovEcon agricultural analysts told a conference of traders and corporate analysts.

Sizov said that the drought may cut Russian wheat production to 41.5 million tonnes this year from 61.7 in 2009 and barley output to 8.9 million tonnes from 17.9 million. (Reporting by Aleksandras Budrys)