The harvest schedule in Russia has been changed due to weather and fuel shortages
The 2026 harvest in Russia is running one to two weeks behind schedule compared to last year. Experts cite unfavorable weather conditions and possible disruptions in fuel supplies as the main reasons.
According to analysts’ estimates, as of July 1, 1.3–1.5 million hectares of grain and legume crops had been threshed in Russia, accounting for only 3% of the planned area. This is nearly three times less than during the same period in 2025, when 4.2–4.6 million hectares were harvested.
Dmytro Rylko, Director General of the Institute for Agricultural Market Analysis, attributed the delay to unfavorable weather conditions.
According to him, most of Russia’s agricultural regions initially experienced a prolonged period of cool weather, followed by prolonged rains, which delayed the start of the harvest campaign.
The Russian Ministry of Agriculture offered a similar assessment, noting that in some regions, the planting season started late, which directly affected the harvest schedule.
At the same time, Albina Koryagina, a business development partner at the consulting firm Neo, suggested that the delays may also be linked to problems with the supply of diesel fuel.
According to her, in some regions, farmers faced:
- a shortage of fuel during tender-based procurement;
- limited supply from intermediaries;
- delays in deliveries under contracts that had already been signed.
As the expert notes, while fuel delivery used to take one to three days, this timeframe has now increased to 5–10 days in some cases.
At the same time, representatives of the agricultural market report that large agricultural companies are not currently experiencing a critical fuel shortage.
According to them, large agricultural holdings built up the necessary diesel fuel reserves in advance, which, according to expert estimates, should last until the end of 2026. However, the situation may be more challenging for small farms, which are more dependent on ongoing supplies.
The gasoline shortage in Russia is beginning to spread to Central Asia, prompting Kyrgyzstan to ask Azerbaijan and other countries to ensure stable supplies of petroleum products, while Uzbekistan is seeing rising fuel prices.
Earlier, the Russian presidential administration sent special “recommendations” to state-run and pro-government media outlets regarding how exactly to report on the fuel shortage in the country.
The fuel crisis is also intensifying in Russia: gasoline is running out at gas stations and lines are growing longer.
Russia has allowed the use of lower-quality gasoline due to the fuel crisis.
