Altai becomes fifth Russian region to declare emergency due to crop problems

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Altai on Friday became the fifth Russian region to declare a state of emergency this month due to crop problems caused by extreme weather, saying too much rain had waterlogged the soil.

The Tomsk, Novosibirsk, Kemerovo and Krasnoyarsk regions have all declared state of emergencies this month, a formal designation which allows farmers to claim compensation and insurance payments.

In 2023, the combined harvest of grain and legume crops in the Altai region amounted to almost 5.0 million tons.

Taken together, the five affected regions accounted for about 8.0% of last year's grain harvest in Russia, the world's largest wheat exporter.

"Having collected detailed information from agricultural producers, the Hydro-meteorological Center and other experts, colleagues in government proposed introducing a state of emergency in the territory of the region, associated with excessive soil moisture," Viktor Tomenko, the regional governor, said on his official Telegram channel.

"At today's meeting of the commission a decision was made (to introduce a state of emergency) - the necessary documents were prepared", he added.

Over a dozen Russian grain-producing regions have been hit by extreme weather, from early spring frosts to drought in recent months. The bad weather has affected an area of more than 1.1 million hectares, officials say.

Many southern regions, key for grain production, are suffering from drought, which could lead to sowing problems for the new crop.

Despite the losses, Russia has maintained its official grain harvest forecast at 132 million metric tons, a 10% drop compared to last year, and its export forecast at 60 million tons.

(Reporting by Olga Popova; Editing by Andrew Osborn)