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More than 1.1 mln hectares under crops lost in Russia during cold spell — official

Russia has increased sowing of high-margin crops, Andrey Razin stressed

SARATOV, August 16. /TASS/. Russia had the crop failure on more than 1.1 mln hectares during the frost return period but prompt operations of agricultural producers made it possible to reseed the greater portion, Deputy Minister of Agriculture Andrey Razin told reporters.

"The weather made serious corrections. We have the failure on more than 1.1 mln hectares during the returned frost period but quick operations of agricultural producers enable reseeding the greater portion [of land], including under high-margin crops," Razin said.

Russia has increased sowing of high-margin crops, the deputy minister stressed. "In particular, we have significant incremental growth for pulses, almost 30%. The incremental growth was over 17% in peas sowing volumes. We see the good export potential in this crop and respond to market needs," Razin noted.

Furthermore, sowing of sugar beet increased by 9% and sowing of oil crops gained 7%. "It should be noted that we have the absolute record of the area under soybean this year - over 4.3 million hectares. We also renewed records for oil crops, rapeseed, and seed flax in particular," the official added.