Russia boosts agricultural production 4.8% in 2016 - Rosstat
MOSCOW. Jan 25 (Interfax) - Russian agricultural production by all farm categories (agricultural organizations, private farms, households) increased 4.8% to 5.626 trillion rubles in 2016, Rosstat reported on Wednesday.
Compared with 2.6% growth seen in 2015, production has accelerated.
Rosstat also reported that production of agricultural goods totaled 230.1 billion rubles in December, a year-on-year increase of 3.4%.
The growth rate in December 2015 was lower than in December 2014 at 3%.
The grain harvest last year was 119.1 million tonnes, 13.7% larger than in 2015, sugar beet increased 23.8% to 48.3 million tonnes, sunflower 15.2% to 10.7 million tonnes, flax fiber decreased 8.8% to 41,000 tonnes, potatoes saw a 7.8% drop to 31 million tonnes whilst vegetables grew 0.9% to 16.3 million tonnes.
The grain yield increased 9.7% to 26 centners/hectare, sugar beet 18.6% to 460 centners/hectare, sunflowers 6.3% to 15.1 centners/hectare, flax fiber 3.3% to 9.4 centners/hectare, potatoes decreased 4% to 153 centners/hectare whilst vegetables increased 0.8% to 227 centners/hectare.
Rosstat said that the production increase in sugar beet and sunflowers was caused by the growth in the yield and increase in the harvested area, 4.4% and 8.2% respectively. The potato harvest fell because of a decrease in yield and harvested area of 3.9%. Flax fiber production fell due to a reduction in harvested area of 11.3%.
The main producers of grain and industrial crops remain agricultural organizations which produced 71.1% of grain in 2016, 68.4% of sunflower and 87.9% of sugar beet, in 2015 - 72.7%, 70.3% and 89% respectively.
Private farms and households produced 28% of the total grain harvest in farms of all categories, 11.9% of sugar beet and 31.3% of sunflower, in 2015 - 26.3%, 10.6% and 29.3% respectively.
Potato and vegetable production was concentrated in households, which produced 78% of the total potato and 66.7% of the vegetable harvests in 2016 compared with 77.6% and 67% respectively in 2015.