Food production and agricultural processing remain one of the growth drivers (in the first quarter of this year (+) 9,9% compared with the first quarter of 2019). The high yield of last year made it possible to ensure the utilization of the capacities of the industry enterprises over the past months. In March, growth was 9,3% compared with the same period in 2019 and 10,2% compared with February 2020).
Buckwheat production in March 2020 amounted to 50,5 thousand tons. Growth by February 2020 was 45,8%, by March 2019 - 41,1%. Nevertheless, buckwheat production in the I quarter of 2020 compared to the same period last year decreased by 5,7%.
The production of pasta and similar flour products increased significantly in March 2020: growth by February 2020 amounted to 25,9%, by March 2019 - 20,7% (volume in March 2020 - 144 thousand tons). For the I quarter of 2020, production growth amounted to 7,6% compared with January-March last year.
The growth in the processing and preserving of fruits and vegetables amounted to 17,4% compared to March 2019. In particular, potato processing increased in March 2020 by 24,3% compared to March last year and by 13,3% compared to February 2020. In general, for the first quarter of 2020, 87 thousand tons of potatoes were processed, which is 27,5% more than in January-March 2019.
At the same time, in March 2020, sugar production decreased by (-) 34,1% compared to the same period last year and (-) 70,7% compared to February 2020. Nevertheless, due to the active use of last year’s crop stocks in January-February, in the 1st quarter of 2020, Russian sugar producers produced 178,1% more products than in January-March 2019.
A decrease in sugar production was also affected by a change in the production policy of enterprises in the Lipetsk region. Weather conditions provided the opportunity for long-term storage of sugar beets in the fields and the processing time was increased, and production volumes in January-February increased. The stocks of products in warehouses increased, which led to a decrease in output in March 2020. A significant factor in reducing production volumes is also the low market value of products in 2020 compared to 2019. According to manufacturers, selling prices in 2020 per kg. products decreased to (approximately) 20 rubles. In the same period last year, they were at the level of 30 rubles per 1 kg.