The Russian agricultural sector has come under a new blow due to a fuel shortage that threatens the harvest. Farmers are facing a diesel shortage, reduced support, and rising costs amid problems with oil refining and the war. This was reported by the Foreign Intelligence Service, writes UNN.
The Kremlin has driven the agricultural sector into a crisis and is now only making the situation worse. Instead of supporting farmers, the Ministry of Agriculture has cut preferential lending precisely when many farms are already operating on the verge of unprofitability. From a government demanding record harvests, farmers received not help, but funding cuts
As the intelligence service notes, the problems are not limited to a lack of money. The fuel shortage on the domestic market has already reached about 20% of demand - nearly a dozen of the largest refineries have been damaged.
If just a few months ago it was only about a shortage of high-octane gasoline, now there is also a lack of diesel - a fuel that Russia traditionally produced with a surplus. The Kremlin has already banned its export until the end of July. Given the harvest situation, this ban will almost certainly be extended
Siberia feels the consequences most acutely. The Irkutsk region and Altai Krai were the first to report a fuel shortage. After the attack on the Omsk refinery, part of the resources were redirected to the south, where the harvesting campaign is already underway. The Rostov region, Krasnodar Krai, the Volga region, and Stavropol are also complaining about the shortage. Small farms are suffering the most: they do not have the funds to purchase fuel in advance and lack the infrastructure to store it. They are the first to be left without diesel.
At the same time, Russia is losing the ability to export grain normally. Strikes on logistics in the Sea of Azov have sharply complicated the operation of the route through which about a quarter of grain exports pass. Analysts have already reduced the export forecast by 20%. Over the past week, wheat has fallen in price by 2.8%, barley by 6.5%, and compared to last year, prices have dropped by 12.6%. The Ministry of Transport proposes to redirect cargo to railways, but such a scheme is not capable of quickly replacing maritime transport and only increases costs.
Attempts to find fuel abroad have also failed. Belarus and Kazakhstan do not have available volumes, and India has refused to supply finished petroleum products. The three largest state-owned Indian refineries stated that they have no surplus for export. As a result, Russia finds itself in a situation where it sells oil to India but can no longer get even diesel fuel back.
The war ultimately determines the distribution of resources. The army is already consuming 3–5% more fuel than planned, and its needs will only grow. In any shortage, the military will get fuel first. Farmers will get what is left. If anything is left at all
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