Flax growing will enjoy continuous support

Flax growing in Russia will get forward momentum, announced the First Deputy Minister of Agriculture of Russia Dzhambulat Khatuov.

He believes that due to the state support and favorable market conditions, the flax growing industry in the country is currently reviving and showing good growth dynamics.

In 2018, the total area sown with flax amounted to 44.5 thousand ha, the gross harvest of flax fiber was 36.7 thousand tons, with a yield of 8.7 centners per 1 ha. This year, the total area under the crop is 50.6 thousand ha with the largest increase recorded in Mari El and Tatarstan, Nizhny Novgorod, Yaroslavl, Ivanovo and Bryansk regions.

“As part of the state agricultural development program, by 2025, the total flax sowing area will have expanded to almost 60 thousand hectares, which is a third more than at present. This will allow us to increase the gross yield by more than 40% and reach the target of 52.6 thousand tons per year. The key point for the growth should be putting unused agricultural lands into productive use,” said Dzhambulat Khatuov.

State aid plays an important role in increasing performance indicators. For example, single, consolidated subsidies have been regularly provided since 2017 to support the development of elite seed production. Since last year, primary flax processing facilities capital costs have been subsidized, soft loans have been provided, and green-box support has been provided at the rate of 10 thousand rubles per 1 ha of a field under flax.

As Dzhambulat Khatuov noted, the state will continue providing support to flax farms, which will give the domestic flax industry to new momentum and will bring it to a higher level of competitiveness and economic efficiency.