ANALYST SAYS USSR WINTER GRAINS HURT BY WEATHER The Soviet Union's winter grain crop is likely to have suffered losses due to dry planting conditions last fall and severe cold this winter, an analyst of world weather and crop conditions said. Grain analyst and meteorologist Gail Martell, author of the EF Hutton publication "Global Crop News," said in her latest report that the Soviets may import more grain, possibly wheat, from the U.S. due to potential crop damage. "Compared with last year, the outlook (for the Soviet winter grain crop) is far more pessimistic," she said. "But it's still too early to talk about disastrous losses. A lot will depend on spring weather, not only for the outcome of the troubled winter grain crop, but also for spring planting." Martell said the dry weather conditions last fall probably prevented optimal seed germination for winter grains. Key wheat growing areas of the southern Ukraine and North Caucasus received on 25-35 pct of autumn precipitation, she said. The bitter winter cold temperatures -- which broke record lows that had stood for four decades -- also may have taken its toll on Soviet winter crops, she said. However, she noted that most of the southern grain belt had ample snow cover, which should have well-insulated the majority of crop areas from severe frost damage. The USSR has already bought 20 to 21 mln tonnes of grains in the July 1986/June 1987 marketing year, primarily from Canada, the European Community, Argentina and Australia, Martell said. She cited a number of reasons besides possible crop problems that might point to additional Soviet import demand. Last fall's dry weather may limit livestock grazing on moisture-depleted pastures, while the cold winter weather necessitated supplemental feeding to keep livestock healthy. Martell was also skeptical of a Soviet claim for a 1986 grain harvest of 210 mln tonnes, and said the Chernobyl accident may have contaminated more grain than originally thought and have to be made up with imports. However, she said the U.S. remains a supplier of last resort for the Soviet Union, noting that the Soviets have only just recently begun their first U.S. grain purchases of the 1986/87 season by buying 2.25 mln tonnes of corn. Martell cited USDA statistics showing that since the 1980 grain embargo the U.S. is only a major supplier of grain to the USSR during years of heavy Soviet demand. In 1984/85, the U.S. supplied 41 pct of record Soviet grain imports of 55.5 mln tonnes. But in 1985/86, the Soviet Union bought 29.9 mln tonnes of grain and turned to the U.S. for only 24 pct of that total. While the USDA Soviet import target for grain for 1986/87 was 22 mln tonnes, many U.S. grain analysts have revised their estimates of Soviet imports up to 25-28 mln tonnes, she said.