"We have been fully engaged in spring field works. Spring has come in the southern territories: Crimea, Stavropol, Kuban, Don and the North Caucasian republics," Agriculture Minister Alexander Tkachev said at a working meeting with the president Vladimir Putin this week.
According to him, the harvested area has been increased: "There are more than 80 million hectares, which is 200 thousand more then we had last year. We also increased the sowing rate: barley, flax, rapeseed, soybeans, vegetables... We expect a decent crop next year...If weather is good and all goes well, I think that there will be also a decent grain harvest this year - more than 100 million tons."
The president of the Russian Grain Union, Arkady Zlochevsky, told Vestnik Kavkaza about sowing in the North Caucasus Federal District: "To date, a total of 114 thousand hectares were sown in the NCFD, by 85 thousand less than last year. It should be taken into account that 114 out of 418 hectares as a whole, considering the decline from 490,000 hectares in the previous year, is much more optimistic than in other regions. In the Southern Federal District, 285,000 hectares were sown, by 206 thousand hectares less than we had last season, and much less than in the NCFD. Therefore, the North Caucasus is in the lead in sowing now.
In total, more than 52.9 million tons of grain were shipped over these 8 months, which is 5.9 million tons higher than in the last season on those same dates. Over the first 8 months, almost 36.2 million tons of wheat were shipped. This is 5.7 million tons more (18.7%) than during the previous season. A significant role here is played by the North Caucasus region, the growth is very good there, and there was a good harvest last year. We hope that due to higher rates of sowing, there will be a good harvest in the North Caucasus, and the region will keep the leading position. Our outlook is quite optimistic."
