Two Russian grain regions report frost damage that will hit harvest

Two of Russia's key grain-growing areas said on Wednesday that May frosts had caused severe damage to crops that would reduce this year's harvest. "The frosts that hit in early May led to catastrophic consequences," Igor Artamonov, the governor of the Lipetsk region, said on the Telegram messaging app.

Two of Russia's key grain-growing areas said on Wednesday that May frosts had caused severe damage to crops that would reduce this year's harvest.

"The frosts that hit in early May led to catastrophic consequences," Igor Artamonov, the governor of the Lipetsk region, said on the Telegram messaging app. "We must understand that this year's harvest will be much smaller than the previous one."

Neighbouring Voronezh said it had declared a state of emergency. "According to preliminary data, the area of dead or severely damaged crops has exceeded 265,000 hectares," the regional agriculture ministry said on Telegram. Voronezh and Lipetsk are part of Russia's fertile Black Earth region. Russia is one of the world's top grain producers and exporters.

Besides grain, the two regions also produce other crops such as potatoes, sunflowers, sugar beet and fruit. Their statements did not make clear how each of these might be affected by the frosts. The Voronezh ministry said the damage stemmed from frosts on the nights of May 3-4 and May 4-5, when the air temperature had fallen to -4.6 Celsius (23.7 Fahrenheit) and the soil temperature to -5C (23F).

It said declaring a state of emergency would enable farmers to "document the objective impossibility of achieving target indicators", which they are obliged to hit in order to receive subsidies, and also to apply for insurance payments. Lipetsk governor Artamonov said his region was also considering introducing a state of emergency.

Industry analysts have noted frosts in a number of regions of central European Russia, the Volga and the south of the country. They say the regions are now facing a further wave of cold snaps that will affect the condition of crops after an early, warm spring. Analysts have already reduced their forecasts for the 2024 grain harvest because of dry weather in the south, but the impact of the frosts has not yet been included in forecasts.

In mid-April, the Agriculture Ministry said the 2024 grain harvest may drop to 132 million metric tons from 144.9 million tons in 2023.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)