Russian farmers are facing a diesel shortage ahead of the harvest

Farmers from the southern regions of Russia, the Central Black Earth Economic Region, and the Volga Federal District are complaining en masse about a shortage of diesel fuel and a sharp rise in its price on the eve of the harvest season. The cost of diesel fuel has doubled since February, exceeding 100,000 rubles per ton, yet even at this price, producers have no guarantee of receiving fuel or knowing when it will be shipped. 

The fuel crisis, which had previously led to gasoline shortages in 25 regions and restrictions on refueling aircraft at airports, has worsened due to massive attacks on oil refineries. 

In May alone, 16 facilities were attacked, effectively paralyzing oil refining in Central Russia and causing refinery utilization rates to drop to their lowest level since 2009. According to analysts’ estimates, the country’s petroleum product production has fallen by 15–20%, while official Rosstat data for April already showed a drop of nearly 10%. If the current negative trend in the fuel market persists in the near future, farmers will be unable to secure enough fuel to carry out a full harvest, which is already threatened by weather anomalies that have damaged crops.

This is reported by Forbes, citing complaints from farmers and sources within Russian agricultural holdings.

Retail gasoline prices at gas stations in Russia have risen to record levels

The shortage of automotive fuel, previously observed in the temporarily occupied Crimea, has begun to spread to the southern regions of the Russian Federation. Residents of the Krasnodar Krai and Rostov Oblast are reporting shortages of gasoline and diesel fuel.

In the temporarily occupied Sevastopol, restrictions on gasoline sales have been introduced due to fuel supply problems following strikes on Russian refineries. Russian Telegram channels reported this on May 22.