MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russia plans to discuss after Oct. 1 whether to extend a grain export ban into next year, First Deputy Prime Minister Viktor Zubkov told Reuters, after a severe drought ruined vast tracts of the country’s grain crop.

The ban comes into force on Sunday until Dec. 31, in a move designed to restrain domestic food prices because of the country’s worst drought in more than a century.

“After October 1 we can discuss how to act after December of this year,” Zubkov said in an email sent on Saturday.

Zubkov’s statement follows contrasting remarks by Russia’s leadership on the ban.

President Dmitry Medvedev has said the ban could be lifted earlier if the harvest permits. Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has said it could last into 2011, after announcing the grain crop could be as low as 60 million tonnes.

Russia harvested 97 million tonnes of grain in 2009, and it needs 78 million tonnes to cover domestic consumption.

In the emailed statement, Zubkov stressed that the government had to balance the interests of grain traders with the need to maintain stability on the domestic food market.

“We understand the anxiety of our exporters,” he said.

“Therefore, as I have said, the ban is a temporary measure. Furthermore, we are continually monitoring and analysing grain, feed and seed supplies on the domestic market.”

Agriculture Ministry data shows that Russia may have no more grain to ship abroad from this year’s crop even if it lifts export bans from 2011.

The country exported 22 million tonnes of grain in 2009/10. The Agriculture Ministry has said Russia could export about 2.8 million tonnes of grain between July 1 and Aug. 15.