The emerging situation on the potato market allows agricultural producers to count on the fact that in the first half of 2018 prices will be significantly higher than a year ago, predicts Institute of Agricultural Market Studies (ICAR). In addition, the domestic product on the market will end several weeks earlier, experts say.
“Throughout 2017, table potato prices have been quite favorable for growers,” the survey says. ICAR... In December, the price exceeded the last year's figure by more than a third. "By the New Year, the average selling price of potatoes in the Bryansk region on the EXW basis was 11 rubles / kg, including VAT, while a year earlier it was 7,75 rubles / kg, at the end of December 2015 - 7 rubles / kg", - analysts indicate.
According to preliminary data Rosstat, the gross harvest of potatoes in Russia in 2017 reached 29,6 million tons, which is 4,9% lower than the level of 2016. At the same time, the real volume may be significantly lower and amount to about 22 million tons, estimates ICAR... Of these, household farms account for about 15,5 million tons, the corporate sector - 6,7 million tons (in 2016 - 6,8 million tons). Such a significant discrepancy in figures is due to the adjustment of production volumes in connection with the data obtained from the All-Russian Agricultural Census, which showed that in 2016 potato sowing in private household plots was 36% less than the data. Rosstat... At the same time, the preliminary results of the 2017 harvest campaign announced by Rosstat do not take into account the conclusions of the agricultural census.
A record harvest in 2015 and a high one in 2016 led to a decline in potato prices. So, if in 2014 the average price of agricultural producers, according to Rosstat, amounted to 12,9 rubles / kg, and in 2015 - 13,2 rubles / kg, then in 2016 - 10,2 rubles / kg. In October 2017, farmers sold potatoes at an average price of 9,4 rubles / kg against 9,2 rubles / kg in 2016 and 10,1 rubles / kg in 2015, but in November prices, in contrast from last year, began to grow, having increased by 10% over the month. According to the results of 11 months of last year, prices of agricultural producers averaged 11,7 rubles / kg against 10,2 rubles / kg for the same period of 2016.
The current increase in prices for potatoes is associated with a decrease in both the gross yield and the quality of tubers, explained “Agroinvestment»Executive Director of the Potato Union Alexey Krasilnikov. Due to the low economy of the industry last year in the commercial sector, agricultural crops decreased by 47 thousand hectares, and a protracted spring and prolonged precipitation in early summer led to a lag in sowing and an increase in the level of diseases. As a result, by the end of the year, prices for potatoes in the wholesale segment were 15-20% higher than the same level in 2016. “And I don’t think that the price will already decline until the end of the season,” said Krasilnikov, noting that “this is good for agricultural producers, who were often on the verge of profitability in recent seasons due to overproduction.”
According to ICAR, in 2017, the import of table potatoes amounted to about 530 thousand tons. As in previous years, the bulk of the products were imported from Egypt, it accounted for about 60% of supplies. In the 2017/18 season, about 550-650 thousand tons of tubers will be imported to Russia, experts predict.
"Borsch set"
On the contrary, prices for vegetables of the "borsch set" will not increase significantly in the second half of the 2017/18 season, predicts ICAR... In recent months, producers of white cabbage, carrots and onions have been talking about excess production, analysts say. According to preliminary data Rosstat, in 2017, the harvest of open field vegetables in the commercial sector amounted to 5,9 million tons, which is 23% more than the average annual level over the past five years. As a result, it is possible that in 2018 manufacturers will revise the structure of production towards reducing the share of low-profit products. “Already, many farmers are saying that in the 2018/19 season they are planning to reduce the acreage for vegetables,” the report says.
At the same time, during the harvesting campaign, the collection of vegetables in agricultural organizations and peasant farms lagged behind last year's pace. So, by December 1, according to the operational data of the Ministry of Agriculture, vegetables in the commodity sector were harvested by 333 thousand tons or 8% less than on the same date last year, and in general they were harvested only from 86% of the area. As a result, in December, the Central Bank even expressed concerns about a possible "seasonal reduction in supply" of cheap domestic vegetable products.
However, according to the results of cleaning, according to preliminary estimates Rosstat, in the open field, 16,3 million tons were obtained, which is 0,3% more than in 2016. Of these, 10,4 million tons were collected in household farms, 3,4 million tons - in agricultural organizations and 2,6 million tons - in peasant farms.
Source: http://www.agroinvestor.ru