Russia finalizes sowing campaign

Ministry of Agriculture of Russia held a regular meeting on the status of agricultural products and food within the country. Its participants discussed the implementation of the yield forecast for 2020 and the current state of crops.

As the First Deputy Minister of Agriculture of Russia Dzhambulat Khatuov reported, the sowing in the country is almost completed. The cultivated area reached 80.2 million hectares, which is on 300 thousand hectares more than in 2019. Particularly, the cultivated area increased for spring wheat, corn, rice, sunflower, vegetables and flax.

Currently, 12 regions have already joined the harvesting campaign. The yield forecast is generally favorable. At the same time, there is a lag from last year’s pace due to the late-ripening of crops in the North Caucasus and Southern Federal Districts. Some regions also reported on drought, dry winds and the return of spring cold during the growing season. The department is constantly monitoring the situation.

Besides, the meeting focused on agricultural machinery fleet replacement and providing agricultural producers with basic materials and technical resources. It was also noted that in the period from January 1 to June 29, 2020, farmers purchased 2.5 million tons of mineral fertilizers. That is 0.3 million tons more than in the same period in 2019.