Romania's wheat harvest increased 23 percent to 7.12 million metric tons this year on favourable weather that boosted grain quality, Agriculture Minister Valeriu Tabara said.

Wheat was planted on almost 2 million hectares (4.9 million hectares), and about 99 percent of harvesting is complete, Tabara said in a phone interview to Bloomberg yesterday. The wheat crop last year was 5.77 million tons, according to the ministry. This year's crop was estimated by the ministry at 7 million tons in May.

Romania is seeking to take advantage of higher international grains prices and boost exports, and there are plans to put 4 million tons of wheat in reserve for overseas shipments, Tabara said.