Farms in Belarus plan to obtain 40 thousand tons of flax fiber in 2009

July 30, Minsk / Olga Belyavskaya - BELTA /. Belarusian farms plan to harvest 40 thousand tons of flax fiber this year, Vladimir Grakun, head of the main department of crop production of the Ministry of Agriculture and Food of Belarus, told a BELTA correspondent. Flax harvesting in many regions of the country is underway in difficult conditions. Heavy rains that recently hit Belarus flattened the crops, not only complicating their harvesting but also worsening the quality of the product. Agricultural organizations in the Mogilev region suffered the most from heavy rainfall, where flax crops were flooded in many districts. "The equipment allows us to harvest lodged flax, but in flooded areas, this work is much more complicated," the specialist said. "We can only hope that the weather conditions will improve soon, the moisture will recede, and we will be able to save the flax harvest where possible." Currently, 314 combines and 15 flax pullers are involved in flax harvesting in the fields of the country. Flax has been pulled from an area of 10.5 thousand hectares, which is 15% of the area to be harvested. The highest rates of flax pulling are in the farms of the Minsk and Brest regions - here, these works have been completed on 25% of the planned area. In the Gomel region, 16.5% of the plan has been harvested, in the Grodno region - 15.8%, in the Mogilev region - 13.4%, and in the Vitebsk region - about 7%. -0-