Agricultural products from the Kherson region began to arrive in Russia: cucumbers, young potatoes, tomatoes, strawberries, cherries grown in this region are imported in noticeable volumes (according to official information, from 350 tons per week) to Crimea, and these deliveries have a tangible impact on prices in local markets.
Recall that the Kherson region is one of the largest producing regions of open and closed ground vegetables: according to the Ukrainian Club of Agrarian Business (UCAB), about 14% of the total vegetable crops of Ukraine were produced there annually.
Until 2014, a significant part of the Kherson harvest fell into the territory of Russia. This year, deliveries have resumed, and it is obvious that in the future their geography will only expand. What should Russian farmers prepare for?
The discussion on this issue is not the first day, for example, in telegram chat “Lukovody Rossii”.
The head of the Volgograd peasant farm, Yuri Lemyakin, believes that mass deliveries of onions should not be feared: “The main areas in the Kherson region were allocated for crops that had export value: first of all, it was soybeans and corn. The onion harvest in recent years has not even been enough to meet the domestic needs of the country, this can be judged, among other things, by prices: the average annual wholesale price for onions in Ukraine over the past three years has been on average twice as high as in Russia.
In addition, we should not forget that those territories from which we expect the supply of agricultural products are densely populated, there are many of their eaters. I think we won’t feel much of an increase, and in a year everyone will be able to adjust to the new realities.”
At the same time, Yuri Lemyakin notes that early (winter) onions from Kherson will certainly be supplied to the southern regions of Russia (Krasnodar, Stavropol Territories, Rostov Region), and its presence on the market of these regions may become a problem for local producers. But there is no need to wait for the spring crop this year, since sowing was very difficult due to the circumstances.
The representative of another Volgograd economy - Murad Kurshumov - does not agree with this point of view. According to him, with the advent of Kherson products, all participants in the Russian market will have to join the competition: “Farmers of the Kherson region have extensive production experience, work using modern technologies, are very well equipped with equipment, and have been supplying their products to Europe for a long time. They grow excellent quality onions at a low cost, and they will go to our market - regardless of the price level - simply because the resulting product must be sold, and the choice of delivery directions is not very large.
The farmer has no doubt that the volumes of the Kherson harvest will be significant: “Agricultural work does not stop, no matter what the difficulties. People understand that their future depends on the results of their work. Perhaps they sowed less than usual, but it must be taken into account that Kherson has a very favorable climate, which allows you to plant later and harvest not at the end of September, but at the end of October. And they also know how to store onions there, there are large modern storage facilities.”
According to Murad Kurshumov, market prices will fall due to these deliveries. Only the high cost of transporting products to the regions of Russia can serve as a deterrent.
Yuriy Lemyakin also predicts a decrease in prices on the market (albeit for other crops of the borscht variety): “If I were potato producers, I would think: earlier, potatoes from Kherson and Nikolaev went to Europe, now, most likely, this flow will go to us.”
And as the farmer is convinced, the complaints of Russian farmers in this case will be inappropriate: “Last year, potatoes were sold at the time of harvesting from the field for 40-45 rubles / kg, cabbage - 60 rubles / kg, beets - 70 rubles / kg. kg. I do not rule out that the authorities will provide Kherson farmers with maximum benefits (most likely only for this year) so that cheap products go to Russia and the market cools down a bit.”
Murad Kurshumov emphasizes that the arrival of Kherson products in a certain sense can have a positive impact on the market, since consumers today need cheap vegetables. For agricultural producers, relatively low but stable prices are also preferable to sharp jumps from record highs to failure.
“I am always in favor of selling a good volume of products at a normal average price. So the farmers get their profit, and the sellers, and the people are satisfied.”
But agrarians are very concerned about situations when product prices fall below cost. Cabbage producers have already faced a similar problem this season. “The harvesting has just begun,” says Murad Kurshumov, “and the price of cabbage fell by 80% in a week. To sell it on such conditions means to work "in the red."
“Our enterprises will have to prove this year that they are able to operate in the face of competition and the most severe crisis,” Yury Lemyakin states.
Time will tell how events will develop in the market in the future. In the meantime, the participants of the telegram chat agree on one thing: today we need to work in such a way that the cost price is minimal, the yield is maximum, and the quality of products is at its best. This approach is the key to the success of an agricultural enterprise in any circumstances.
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