Oksana Lut: Grain Yields Are to Decrease Due to May Frosts, Vegetable Crops Are Not Damaged

Most of the crops affected by the May frosts have already been re-sown, with orchards suffering the most. A decrease in grain yields is expected, vegetable crops have not been affected by the weather situation, as stated by Russian Minister of Agriculture Oksana Lut during the meeting of Russian President Vladimir Putin with the government.

“This year has been difficult for us: there have been unfavorable weather conditions in 21 regions, recurrent frosts affected Central Russia, the Volga region, the South and the Lugansk People’s Republic, leading to the death of more than 1 million hectares of crops. This is about 1.2% of the total area,” the minister said.

Meanwhile, the vast majority of these areas are currently re-sown. Also, about 700 thousand hectares have also been damaged, of which 600 thousand hectares are occupied by grain, and “there will be a decrease in yield in these areas,” and more than 13.5 thousand hectares of perennial fruit and berry plantings have been damaged.

“As a result of this situation, 11 regions at their level introduced a state of emergency. Considering the scale of damage in some of them, the Ministry of Agriculture raised an issue of introducing a federal emergency regime,” Oksana Lut reminded.

The minister also noted that the main measure of support for agricultural producers, which is provided under bad weather conditions, is agricultural insurance. “This year, about 14% of all our areas have been insured — quite a lot of them have been in an unpleasant weather situation with frosts, for which insurance payments will now be made. We are actively working with insurance companies to guarantee that everyone who should receive their insurance payments obtains them on time in full,” said Oksana Lut.

She added that as of today, the volume of insurance payments has already amounted to 600 million rubles.

FORECASTS

Meanwhile, the ministry maintains expectations for the grain harvest at 132 million tons and oilseeds at 28 million tons despite all the difficulties, the minister continued. “This volume will be sufficient to fully supply the domestic market and maintain significant export potential for both raw materials and processed products. Separately, I would like to note that grain exports in the coming season are expected to reach 60 million tons,” she stated.

Production plans for sugar beets are 45.5 million tons, potatoes in the organized sector are 7.3 million tons, vegetables in the organized sector are 7.4 million tons. “Here we are going according to plan. The weather situation has not affected us individually,” Oksana Lut emphasized. In addition, taking into the balance carried forward, the forage crops harvest will fully meet the needs of domestic livestock farmers, she added.