According to statistics, carrots rank third in the "borsch group" in terms of consumption in Russia. Only potatoes and onions are more popular than her. However, popularity is a relative concept, as farmers once again became convinced at the end of the 2022 season.
The vitamin product did not bring its producers the expected income. Most likely, as Vasily Zaitsev, a well-known carrot grower and Vilmorin sales representative, predicts, this will lead to a reduction in carrot production in 2023.
REDUCTION OF AREA
“According to my observations,” the expert comments, “the area under carrots this season has decreased compared to last year and very seriously. In fact, all major players announced a reduction in crop production by about 30 percent.”
As Vasily Zaitsev notes, there are several reasons for the loss of interest of farmers in growing carrots, one of them is the difficult conditions for harvesting the 2022 season. “In some regions, the rains did not stop until the beginning of winter,” he explains, “not all agricultural enterprises were able to prepare the fields for planting in a timely manner, and someone completely left part of the crop under the snow. Plant
vegetables in these areas in 2023 is meaningless, undecayed plant residues are a source of bacterial infections. Therefore, farmers had to make a choice in favor of cereals.”
The second good reason for abandoning carrots is the low prices for all open-field vegetables (with the exception of onions) and the difficulty in selling agricultural products throughout the year. “Farmers literally decided until April what to sow this year, because there was no demand on the market for any crop,” explains Vasily Zaitsev.
The decrease in demand, according to the expert, is explained by the excess supply of the product on the market. In 2022 (after the season of high prices for these products), more vegetables were planted as expected. “Only in the Volgograd region, the area under carrots then greatly increased due to small farmers,” says Vasily Zaitsev.
In addition, products from the annexed regions and Belarus were actively supplied to the shelves of Russian stores (previously, part of the Belarusian-Russian carrots went to Ukraine).
But the volume of deliveries from China, Israel, Egypt in 2022 expectedly decreased, products from these countries were redirected to markets where higher prices were established. “Traditionally, a lot of carrots are imported into Russia from Kazakhstan, mainly from the Pavlodar region, where this crop is massively grown,” notes Vasily Zaitsev, “the border between the countries that are members of the Customs Union is open, Kazakh carrots are sold throughout Siberia, which, of course, affects on the production volumes of these products in the regions of the Siberian Federal District. Last year, due to low prices in Russia, this flow went to Asia, what will happen in the new season is still difficult to say.”
NEW SEASON, NEW PRICES
Of course, the country will not remain completely without carrots. The landing as a whole is successful, although preparations for it were accompanied by certain difficulties. As expected, the delivery time for seeds from abroad has increased. "Previously, let's say, a car was delivered from France for a maximum of two weeks, now it takes up to a month and a half”, comments a Vilmorin sales representative. Prices have also risen - compared to last year (if we do not take into account the period of a sharp jump in the exchange rate) by an average of 20%.
«This is a markup for Russia, - considers Vasily Zaitsev- a number of transport companies refused to work with our country. Those who continue to do so have jacked up their prices and are taking out travel insurance at the highest rate.". At the same time, according to the expert, the same seeds in neighboring countries (Belarus, Kazakhstan, etc.) cost 30-40% cheaper. The difference is noticeable, so many farmers (of those who did not plant with credit money and do not have to report to banks) this year preferred to buy planting material in neighboring countries “unofficially”, for cash, without certificates, at their own peril and risk.
The risk, by the way, is really present. “For example, when importing carrot seeds from Central Asia, there is a possibility of receiving goods infected with the pathogen of striping potato chips (zebra chip), since in these countries phytosanitary control for the presence of Candidatus Liberibacter Solanacearum is not carried out,” the expert says, “meanwhile, this is a dangerous a disease that threatens not only carrots, but also potatoes grown in crop rotation. Yield losses can reach 40%.
CHOICE IN FAVOR OF SHANTANE
According to a representative of the Vilmorin company, Russian agricultural producers did not face a shortage of carrot seeds of certain varieties and hybrids in the new season, it was possible to import any positions from among the selection achievements included in the State Register.
At the same time, customers made a choice mainly in favor of hybrids of the Shantane variety type. "In part, this is also a consequence of the difficult autumn of 2022., explains Vasily Zaitsev- Shantane hybrids are not as tasty compared to Nantes or Kuroda, but the carrots of this variety break less and have tougher tops, which means that the agrarian has more chances to harvest in adverse weather conditions..
In general, as the expert notes, the spread of the Shantane variety type in our country is directly related to the introduction of mechanized harvesting.
«In the last two or three years, farmers in the Volgograd region have been actively switching to ridge technology; before, carrots were grown here on ridges, - the expert gives an example. - But during the pandemic, farmers faced a shortage of labor, and then a sharp increase in the cost of employees. As a result, each farm tried to purchase a single-row combine, but was forced to revise the set of grown hybrids.».
«But in the farms of the Novgorod region, carrots are often harvested by hand., shares observations Zaitsev- and in this region, carrots of the Nantes variety type predominate. Its advantages, in addition to taste, include suitability for long-term storage. Many Novgorod farmers have modern refrigerated warehouses, which allows them to sell excellent quality products until the fall of the next season.».
Although on the shelves of stores in most regions of Russia, Shantane is still more widely represented. "Over 10 years ago, when I first started working for Vilmorin, - says Vasily Zaitsev- Among my tasks was the promotion of carrots of the Nantes variety type in retail chains. Hybrids of this type are widespread in Europe, but there are different soils and a different climate, in France and southern Germany, for example, carrots can winter in the ground. In Russia, everything is different, and retail chains operating on its territory have to take this into account. For stores, first of all, the presentation of products is important, no one needs scrap, so Shantane will take the lion's share in the assortment, this is beneficial for both farmers and sellers».
EASY TO CARE BUT DIFFICULT TO STORAGE
Talking about the future prospects of carrots in Russia is not easy. The trend towards a steady reduction in crop production can be seen in the example of a number of large-scale vegetable projects launched back in 2014: with each new season, they are increasingly reducing the share of carrots in total production. In modern conditions, an enterprise growing crops on 50-80 hectares is already a large enterprise.
«Generally speaking, it's easy to grow., - sure Vasily Zaitsev- much harder to keep. I would also note the problems of refinement. The main part of carrots in Russia is produced in the southern regions, but the product is washed with warm water, which leads to the formation of “bruises”, and a lot of potentially good product goes to re-sorting. In Israel, for example, all washing lines are equipped with hydrocoolers that keep the water temperature at a level of +3°C, thanks to which it is possible to greatly reduce the amount of waste».
But all production issues can be solved if farmers have an incentive for this, the expert believes. "If there is demand, there will be supply., - notes Zaitsev- in 2021, carrots cost very good money, and everyone was inspired. Now the development of agricultural production could be facilitated by the restoration of public catering. The demand for vegetables is driving the catering sector to a large extent, and we hope that it will give farmers a reason to be optimistic.».