Russian Agriculture Ministry plans to impose federal state of emergency due to cold weather - minister

TASHKENT. May 27 (Interfax) - The Russian Agriculture Ministry plans to impose a federal state of emergency due to abnormally cold weather at the beginning of May.

"We're planning right now, to introduce [a state] of emergency. We'll introduce a federal one. And we'll ask the government for orchard crops to compensate [damages caused by the cold weather]," Agriculture Minister Oksana Luth told reporters in Tashkent.

She said the frosts had seriously affected fruit trees, especially apple trees in central regions. "But we will import apples, see where we can import them, where from if the south can't give us more," she said. "But the south can give us more, we'll see," she said.

Commenting on the situation with strawberry prices, Luth said that the frosts did not have a significant impact on these berries. "There is a certain [price] imbalance, it'll adjust anyway in June," she said.

Regional states of emergency are in force in 10 constituent members of the Russian Federation. The AgMin estimates 900,000 hectares of crops perished or were damaged and will need to be re-seeded.