The Governor did not rule out that the region may become become a leader in all major segments of the global market of flax and linen products, including spun flax fiber, flax yarn and fabrics.
Ostrovsky recalled that the climatic conditions of the region most favorable for the cultivation of flax, and historically this industry is largely determined by socio-economic status of the region.
"An important competitive advantage in our region, both on the Russian and global market, is the availability of large areas suitable for growing high quality flax," said the Governor, adding that a stable government support for the industry will expand the crops of flax in the region in 2018 to 10 million hectares in 2020 — up to 20 thousand hectares.
"Leveraging the existing potential, Smolensk farmers can cultivate flax on an area of about one hundred thousand hectares, accounting for 10% of the available arable land," - said the head of the region reminded that in the Russian Federation over the past five years, the acreage of flax averaged 50-55 thousand hectares.
According to the Governor, oblast one of the first in Russia began to modernize industry and flax cultivation in the framework of the State program of development of agriculture and regulation of markets of agricultural products, raw materials and food for 2008 — 2012 years" and five years ago adopted the regional programme of improvement of the sector up to 2017, whose main objective is the technical and technological re-equipment of production and processing of losira, production of new types of flax, increase the quality and supply of competitive products on Russian and foreign markets.
In a press-service of regional administration noted that the programme has helped to attract nearly 640 million rubles, 2.4 times increase in the production of flax fiber, increase its yield by 1.7 times — up to 10.3 quintals per hectare, to begin the translation of flax cultivation for industrial technology.
In 2012 in the Smolensk region — the first in the Central Federal district was formed by a cluster of flax growing and processing of flax, production of monofilament, linen yarn. In addition, a Russian-Belgian company for the manufacture of flax machinery. In the cluster formed a closed cycle of production of flax with the production of finished products according to the principle "from field to counter", it is concentrated 40% of the total acreage of flax, produces about 50% of the total volume of flax fiber.
Translated by service "Yandex.Translation"
