The Soyuzkrakhmal Association of Advanced Grain Processing Enterprises sums up the results of 2020 and talks about the prospects of the industry. This year, the industry of deep grain processing is showing increased interest from both business and the state. This is due to the high yields of grain crops in Russia. Downstream products are products with high added value, which are in short supply on the domestic market and which are profitable to sell abroad.
The production of products of deep processing of grain in Russia showed significant growth only in the category of dextrins.
For 10 months of 2020, Russia produced 238,9 thousand tons of native starches. The growth rate compared to last year was 1,7%. Half of this volume was provided by production in the Central District in the Tula, Tambov, Voronezh, Lipetsk and Orel regions.
For modified starches, the indicators remained almost unchanged: in January-October this year, Russia produced 49,1 thousand tons. So, from January to October 2019, domestic plants produced 48,0 thousand tons. The increase was 2,3%. Almost half of the modified starches are produced in the Rostov region (23 tons): the largest producer of such starch, the Amilko company, operates there. Their main product is industrial modified starch.
There are almost no changes in the category of glucose-fructose syrups for 10 months of this year. The growth rate was 2,3% due to the launch of the production capacity of the Biotechnological Complex Rosva. In 2020, the Russian Federation produced 159,8 thousand tons of syrups. Almost all syrups are produced in the Central Federal District in the Tula, Ryazan and Kaluga regions. Half (76,8 thousand tons) of the all-Russian volume was provided by the Cargill plant in Efremov.
Production volumes of starch syrup in January - October 2020 amounted to 382,1 thousand tons - they decreased by 0,8% compared to the same period last year. The decrease in production was due to lower production volumes in the Tambov and Rostov regions.
The production of dextrins increased by 12,4% in 10 months of this year compared to the same period last year - it amounted to 7,6 thousand tons. Most of the Russian dextrins are produced in the Oryol region (6,1 thousand tons) by OOO Zvyaginsky starch plant.
According to the Federal State Statistics Service, the average prices for native starches in October 2020 in Russia amounted to 24 rubles / ton. Compared to October 550,7, prices increased by 2019 rubles / ton. Average producer prices for starch syrup in October this year compared to October last year increased by 512,8 rubles / t, amounting to 765,0 rubles / t. The rise in prices for products of deep processing of grain is explained by the phenomenally high prices for raw materials - grain of wheat and corn, since up to 18% of costs are spent on the purchase of raw materials.
For three quarters of 2020, the export of products of deep processing of grain amounted to 23,4 thousand tons: 10,9 thousand tons of starch syrup, 0,9 glucose-fructose syrups, 0,8 thousand tons of modified starches and 2,1 thousand tons modified starches converted into esters. Among native starches, the largest volumes were as follows: 0,4 thousand tons of wheat starch, 5,9 thousand tons of corn starch, 1,3 thousand tons of potato starch. In total, starch products worth $ 10,2 million were exported from Russia. Exports increased compared to last year: in the nine months of 2019, 17,9 thousand tons of products were exported in the amount of $ 9,3 million
Imports of starch products significantly exceed exports both in monetary and physical terms: for 9 months of this year it amounted to 68,2 thousand tons worth 66,4 million dollars. The volume of imports in 2020 increased significantly: in the same period of 2019, 48,7 thousand tons of starch and starch products were imported to Russia in the amount of 52,1 million dollars. It is worth noting that products with a higher added value are imported: in physical terms, imports exceed exports three times, but in monetary terms - six times.
If we talk about specific products, then modified starches are the leader in imports in Russia among the products of deep processing of grain - this year the volume of imports amounted to 35,4 thousand tons. In addition, the following categories are supplied in significant volumes: 1,8 thousand tons of wheat starch, 1,5 thousand tons of corn starch, 5,7 thousand tons of potato starch, 1,1 thousand tons of cassava starch, 2,5 thousand tons of cassava starch. tons of glucose-fructose syrups, 3,8 thousand tons of maltodextrins, 14,9 thousand tons of corn gluten.
The deep grain processing industry is facing certain difficulties. First, the lack of awareness of potential investors about the specifics of the industry. Secondly, the lack of qualified personnel for the launch and operation of production. Thirdly, future enterprises need to think over the issues of logistics and sales. The Association of Advanced Grain Processing Enterprises is working in all areas to raise awareness and interest in the industry, and also interacts with authorities.
“The Ministry of Agriculture is developing measures to support our industry. In particular, reimbursement of part of the costs of logistics of products, preferential short-term loans for the purchase of raw materials for further deep processing, as well as preferential investment loans for construction or modernization of enterprises. The mechanism of reimbursement of a part of direct costs incurred for construction or modernization of enterprises implementing investment projects for deep processing of grain deserves special attention. Hopefully it will work in 2021. The interest of the state, a high yield and the need of Russian business for deep processing products increases the interest of investors in our industry. Several such projects are already being implemented, and the possibilities of future construction are also being discussed. We regard our industry as a “niche”, but very promising one, ”comments Oleg Radin, president of the Soyuzkrakhmal Association.
About the Association "Soyuzkrakhmal"
The Association of Advanced Grain Processing Enterprises is a professional non-profit organization that promotes the strengthening and development of the domestic market for deep processing of grain. The SoyuzStarch Association was founded in 1998 and currently unites the largest enterprises in the industry, providing about 80% of native starch, more than 70% of glucose and glucose-fructose syrups, 65% of modified starches and maltodextrin, as well as 100% of L-lysine sulfate of domestic production.