7 million tons collected
Alexey Krasilnikov, Executive Director of the Potato Union of Russia
According to the Ministry of Agriculture of the Russian Federation as of October 31, 2019, potatoes in agricultural enterprises and peasant (farm) farms were dug out from an area of 276,3 thousand hectares, or 91,4% of the planting area, 7 million tons were dug up (in 2018 - 6,5 million tons) with a yield of 254,4 c / ha (in 2018 - 233,4 c / ha).
In some regions, harvesting is still ongoing, so the final result of this year will be even higher. We emphasize that even now 510 thousand tons of potatoes are harvested more than last year.
The ending season did not bring any particular surprises in terms of the distribution of places in the list of leading regions in terms of gross receipts. The top line was traditionally occupied by the Bryansk region: 809 thousand tons were dug up, the average yield is 303 c / ha. But it should be noted that last year the results of the region were higher: the gross harvest was 896 thousand tons, the yield - 335 c / ha. Potato growers attribute this to the drought, which lingered for a long time in the Bryansk region this summer, as well as the invasion of the potato worm. For most of the other regions in the top ten, the season was more favorable, and they surpassed the achievements of last year.
So, in the Tula region 555 thousand tons were dug up (in 2018 - 374 thousand tons).
This difference is understandable: in 2019, the Tula region significantly increased the area planted by the crop: from 16 to 18,2 thousand hectares.
Next follows the Nizhny Novgorod region, where 479 thousand tons were collected (versus 360 thousand tons in 2018). Fourth place in the Moscow region: 427 thousand tons (compared with 328 thousand tons in 2018). The Sverdlovsk Region closes the Five: 282 thousand tons (and 264 thousand tons in 2018).
We will also present the results of the Astrakhan region - 273 thousand tons (182 thousand tons in 2018); Tyumen region - 259 thousand tons (239 thousand tons a year earlier); Lipetsk region - 189 thousand tons (163 thousand tons in 2018); The Republic of Chuvashia - 172 thousand tons (143 thousand tons in 2018) and the Kemerovo Region - 164 thousand tons (195 thousand tons in 2018).
The best indicators of potato yield this year were demonstrated by: Nizhny Novgorod region - 337 c / ha, Pskov - 334 c / ha and Lipetsk region - 326 c / ha. In general, the year turned out to be fruitful for most regions of the country, but harvesting was not smooth everywhere. Difficulties were noted by the potato growers of the Sverdlovsk region: prolonged rains in September led to a strong waterlogging of the soil, which significantly extended the period of field work. Many agricultural producers expressed fears that a significant part of the rich harvest would go under the snow, but at the moment the situation has been leveled: according to the regional Ministry of Agriculture, by the end of October, potatoes were harvested from 97% of the planting area.
The emergency mode due to the two-month precipitation rate was introduced in October in the Vologda Oblast, the same problems were recorded in Novgorod region.
At the moment, in the Vologda Oblast, potatoes have been harvested from 82,6% of the territory (57 thousand tons were collected, in 2018 - 59 thousand tons), in the Novgorod region - from 86% (88,3 thousand tons were received, in 2018 - m - 84,6 thousand tons). Based on these data, we can say that although potato growers in these regions will certainly incur losses, the situation is still not catastrophic.
A much more difficult situation has developed in the Far Eastern Federal District. In the Khabarovsk Territory, for example, potatoes were dug up from 10% of the area, 0,9 thousand tons were harvested (in 2018 - 14,5 thousand tons). In summer, 24 thousand hectares of the territory of the region fell under flooding. Now potatoes are purchased for the residents of the region in other regions of Russia and in China.
PRICES AT THE LAST YEAR LEVEL
A rich harvest, gathered in almost all regions of Russia, does not contribute to the rise in price of the product. As of the end of October, in the central regions of Russia and in the Volga region, wholesale lots of potatoes are sold at prices ranging from 9 to 11 rubles - that is, at the level of last year or slightly lower. Moreover, in Bryansk, Belgorod and Voronezh, potatoes are 15-20% cheaper than in neighboring regions.
It is difficult to predict any changes in this area, but we hope that prices will gradually increase. To make such assumptions allows the fact that the bulk of Belarusian potatoes this year goes to Ukraine (where this year is a crop failure, and prices have broken all permissible records since mid-August) and do not put pressure on our market.
A serious shortage of potatoes is also observed in Moldova; there are requests for export from Serbia. But it has not yet been possible to establish mass deliveries of potatoes from Russia there. The main obstacle: the import of table potatoes infected with the Y virus (the strain that is characteristic of Russia and Belarus) is prohibited in these countries. A European strain of the virus is considered acceptable. The Potato Union appealed to the Rosselkhoznadzor of the Russian Federation with a request to resolve this issue, negotiations were held with representatives of states, but so far no solution has been found.
We also expect that the lion's share of Egyptian potatoes, as last year, will go to European countries, many of which also suffered from drought this season.
Recall that for the 2018/19 season, early potato shipments from Egypt to Russia fell by two and a half times.
In addition, domestic potato processing enterprises are developing, taking away surplus product from the market. So, the Lipetsk enterprise Lam Weston Belaya Dacha plans to launch the second stage and is thinking about the third. In the Ryazan region, after modernization, the Kasimovsky Potato plant again started operating. In September, the Tyumen Region officially opened the KRiMM plant.
IMPORT OF SEED POTATOES
At the moment, Russian enterprises are preparing applications to the Rosselkhoznadzor for inspection of seed potato lots (including micro-plants and mini-tubers), which are planned to be brought into the country from abroad by the new season. Microplants have already begun to arrive in Russia.
Interestingly, this year in the general list there are requests for the supply of seed material from Switzerland and China. Moreover, the delegation of the Rosselkhoznadzor will leave for China in the near future (initially the purpose of the visit was to inspect the nurseries of fruit plants, but experts are also ready to visit the laboratory for the production of minitubers, whose products the Russian side is going to purchase)
It should be noted that the Rosselkhoznadzor is doing a lot of work to simplify the mechanism for importing seed material to Russia from other countries. In particular, recently the department’s specialists developed the system “Issuing permits for the import of regulated products for use for sowing and planting” (VRVPP system) on the basis of the Argus-Fito federal state-owned financial institution, which is currently undergoing a testing phase and is planned for commissioning operation until the end of 2019.
The system is aimed at simplifying the procedure for filing and considering applications for the import of regulated products. It will allow you to keep a record of submitted applications and permits issued in accordance with them for the import of seed and planting material, bulb crops and track the status of submitted applications online. In addition, the system will eliminate technical errors made by participants in foreign economic activity when submitting applications, shorten the period for consideration of applications, speed up the procedure for sending answers and permissions to submitted requests, eliminate the need to submit applications on paper, and ensure transparency and accessibility.
Let's hope that part of the supply problems will be resolved more quickly.
By the way, we pin no less hopes on the Federal State Information System in the Field of Seed Production of Agricultural Plants (FSIS "Seed Production"), developed by the Ministry of Agriculture. The system should provide market participants with the ability to track the origin of each batch of seeds, its logistics, collection of royalties, etc. According to the plan, the system will be fully operational as early as 2020.
But back to the problems of supplies from abroad. Those of them that the applicant most often encounters when submitting an application are listed on the official website of the Rosselkhoznadzor. There is also information that to confirm phytosanitary status and ensure product traceability, all submitted applications are redirected to the national plant protection organizations of exporting countries through the embassies of these states. In this regard, the waiting period for permission is delayed by three to four months, which is critical primarily for those who plan to import microplants (the procedure simply does not fit into the lifespan of the microplants). Solving this issue, the experts of the Potato Union, together with specialists of the Rosselkhoznadzor, developed a separate mechanism for the supply of this type of seed material.
Today, the procedure begins with the appeal of the importing company to the Rosselkhoznadzor with a notification about what, in what volume and from which territory it is planned to import. The Rosselkhoznadzor asks the official authorities of a potential exporting country for confirmation of the presence of such microplants and a guarantee that they are grown under sterile conditions (which implies minimal phytosanitary risks). After receiving confirmation, the Rosselkhoznadzor sends a notification to the importing company that import is allowed. Microplants arrive at the border crossing point and are redirected to a further destination point without additional examinations.
And a few words about the prices of imported seed potatoes. As everyone remembers, last year due to the European drought, we recorded a shortage of seed potatoes of foreign production in our market, as well as an increase in prices for it. At the current moment, it can also be noted that there are problems with the crop, for example, in Germany, but it is too early to talk about how much European countries will be able to form lots for Russia.