MOSCOW, June 4 Most of the areas affected by the May frosts have already been replanted, difficult weather conditions did not affect the forecast for the harvest of grains, oilseeds and a number of other crops, she said Head of the Ministry of Agriculture of the Russian Federation Oksana Lut.
During a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, she noted that the sowing campaign in the country is coming to an end — as of June 4, almost 50 million hectares have been sown with spring crops, which is 90% of the planned area.
In general, the sown area for this year, taking into account winter and spring crops, has been increased by 300 thousand hectares, which will amount to 84.5 million hectares.
At the same time, according to Lut, as a result Due to the difficult situation with frosts, 11 regions of the Russian Federation have introduced a state of emergency at their level, and the Ministry of Agriculture, taking into account the scale of damage in a number of them, initiated the introduction of a federal state of emergency.
“The year turned out to be difficult… frosts led to the death of more than 1 million hectares of crops — this is about 1.2% of the total area. Currently, the vast majority of these areas have been replanted… Despite all the difficulties that I have outlined, we maintain our expectations for the grain harvest for level of 132 million tons and oilseeds at 28 million tons. This volume will be enough to fully cover the domestic market and maintain significant export potential,” said Lut.
She also emphasized that grain exports in the coming season are expected to reach 60. million tons. And for sugar beets it is planned to produce 45.5 million tons, potatoes and vegetables in the organized sector — 7.3 and 7.4 million tons, respectively. “Here we are going according to plan, the weather situation has not affected us,” the head of the Ministry of Agriculture clarified.