Minister of Agriculture Dmitry Patrushev held a meeting on planning the structure of sown areas for the 2023 harvest.
In its formation, an important task is to ensure the balance of supply in the agricultural market and the maximum profitability of crop production. According to the head of the Ministry of Agriculture, the total area next year will grow by about 50 thousand hectares and will exceed 82 million hectares. Dmitry Patrushev noted that this is a worthy result, especially given the difficult weather conditions and the protracted cleaning.
The area under grain and leguminous crops will tentatively amount to 47.6 million hectares, which is 136 thousand hectares more than the current year. This indicator will provide the necessary level of food safety. According to the Ministry of Agriculture, the gross harvest at the level of 125-127 million tons of grain will allow maintaining a balance of interests of grain producers, consumers and exporters.
At the same time, the department currently sees the need to reduce the area under wheat by almost half a million hectares. This is necessary to maintain the balance of prices and stabilize the domestic market in the interests of all participants, as well as to realize the record harvest of the current year. The target for wheat for the next year is 80-85 million tons.
To maintain the stability of the crop rotation, it is necessary to increase the area under spring barley by 400 thousand hectares and under grain legumes – primarily peas – by at least 125 thousand hectares. According to experts, the world market for these crops is quite capacious, and Russia can strengthen its position on it. In this regard, the Ministry of Agriculture, together with exporters, plans to develop a program for the export of barley, peas and other legumes.
The area under socially sensitive crops such as rice and buckwheat is planned just above the current year and is sufficient to meet all needs. In addition, growth is announced for sugar beet and soybeans for the next year. Sunflower crops need at least 9.8 million hectares, and oil flax – at least 2.2 million hectares, which is more than the original plan. An increase in the area under vegetables and potatoes in the organized sector is also predicted – next year a special federal project will start on these crops.
According to the head of the Ministry of Agriculture, in general, the structure of sown areas has been formed and will be fully approved by December 20. Dmitry Patrushev stressed that the industry is facing the task of systematically increasing crop volumes, which requires expanding the production base. At the same time, the most important thing is to maintain a balance when sowing all crops.
