Russia may suffer huge economic losses from wildfires: analysts

20:14, 10 August 2010

MOSCOW. August 10. KAZINFORM The losses the Russian economy may suffer because of the recent heat wave, drought and wildfires may amount to one percent of its 2010 GDP, the Moscow business daily Kommersant reported Tuesday. Kazinform refers to xinhua.

"The main negative impact of the drought and wildfires will reveal in August," Alexander Morozov, the chief economist at HSBC Bank in Moscow, told the newspaper.

The fact of stagnation would be formally recognized after third-quarter data became available, Morozov said.

According to experts' estimations, the Russian economy may lose about four percent of value added for the third quarter and one percent of GDP(about 15 billion U.S. dollars) in 2010.

Russian economists calculated that consumer inflation in Russia might reach 9.5 percent by the end of this year.

Moreover, the grain export embargo to be implemented from Aug. 15, would result in a loss of 3 billion dollars by Dec. 31. The embargo may also lead to surging inflation with food import prices rising high. Kazinform cites Xinhua. See www.en.rian.ru

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