Alpcot Agro revealed it too, like peer Black Earth Farming, had suffered from poor Russian weather which, in contrast with drought in parts of neighbouring Ukraine, has provided over-generous rainfall.

The Black Sea farm operator said that it has as yet been unable to finish its autumn harvest thanks to the wet conditions, which had also meant a "higher humidity content of the crops than in a normal year" and boosted drying bills.

"The harvest season has been extraordinarily long this year due to very wet conditions throughout the fall," Alpcot said.

About 500 hectares of corn in Kursk, in eastern Russia, were still awaiting harvest, although the group said it was "confident that it can be harvested without significant loss during the early part of 2012".

And the comments follow those of Black Earth Farming, which warned of losses to the quality of its summer harvest after transport hold-ups meant crops were "temporarily tipped on asphalt in the open air and suffered from heavy rain".

'Historic drought'

Meanwhile, in Ukraine, a dearth of rain has raised fears for autumn-sown such that many analysts believe the country will be forced to turn importer of wheat in 2012-13.

On Friday, US-based Martell Crop Projections warned that "historic drought in Ukraine prevents any chances for a productive harvest in 2012", without potentially falling to its lowest since 2003, when wheat production plunged 80% to 3.6m tonnes, harmed by a persistent ice crust.

"Production may plummet to the lowest level since 2003, shrinking domestic supplies and removing Ukraine from the wheat export market in 2012-13.

"Precipitation finally developed in late December, after a six-month drought, but the generous rainfall comes too late to rescue wheat from a very poor outcome.  Perhaps 50% of Ukraine wheat may be lost."

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Alpcot, which also farms in Ukraine, said that its autumn-sown crops were "in good condition", flagging "relatively mild weather and higher-than-normal temperatures" in Russia.

It also unveiled a total 2011 crop of 279,800 tonnes, from some 91,000 harvested hectares, compared with 110,000 tonnes, from 71,000 hectares, the year before, when Russia suffered its worst drought on record.

Separately, Alpcot revealed that its shareholders had backed its plans to acquire London-listed Ukraine farm operator Landkom International.