According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Food of the Republic of Belarus, the planted areas of winter rapeseed for the 2017 crop increased to 352.5 thousand hectares, compared to 316 thousand hectares in the previous year (including losses in the winter period at about 25%).
According to the Center for Hydrometeorology, Control and Monitoring of environmental contamination with radioactive waste (Hydromet), in the first half of winter, the agrometeorological conditions of over-wintering of rapeseed were quite satisfactory. Only in the Vitebsk and Gomel regions of the rapeseed areas, which were in poor condition before the rest period, were significant losses observed. Thus, in the event of further favorable weather conditions in February and in spring, the total rapeseed crop in Belarus may exceed the latest figures for the last year. 
