In the Stavropol Territory, they will begin to master new technologies for producing garlic in defiance of Chinese competitors.
The threat of coronavirus can significantly affect the range of imported products from China. Especially Russians were excited about the news about the rejection of garlic, which is widely used as a spice and for the prevention of colds. The share of Chinese garlic in the domestic market now reaches 80 percent.
Almost all the garlic in the country is grown in private farms and peasant farms; large agricultural enterprises are of little interest to this crop. Almost all the garlic in the country is grown in private farms and peasant farms; large agricultural enterprises are of little interest to this crop.
- Import of garlic is about 50 thousand tons, the gross harvest in the Russian Federation is about 260 thousand tons, but the bulk is grown in personal subsidiary farms and farms. In practice, this means that in the event of an interruption in Chinese supplies, garlic from chain stores disappears for a while, and a new crop is expected for a whole year, ”says Andrei Dalnov, head of the Rosselkhozbank Branch Expertise Center.
However, not everyone agrees with the expert’s forecast of an imminent garlic deficit and, as a result, an increase in its price. For example, in the Stavropol Territory, where its production is developing very actively (the region took sixth place among the constituent entities of the Russian Federation in terms of garlic cultivation), a good supply of products. In addition, in the near future they plan to introduce a technology for harvesting from air bulbs. Thus, the heads can be excavated in two years, not three.
“I don’t see any particular danger in curtailing supplies from China, because farmers in the Krasnodar Territory, and now several producers in the Stavropol Territory, have begun to master a new effective method of growing a two-year non-stop crop,” says Yuri Kadushkin, a specialist at the Stavropol Agricultural Information and Consulting Center. - With this technology, the seed becomes virtually free. Having planted seeds in the fall, in two years we will get a high-quality harvest. Chinese farmers actively use this method, which explains the low price of their products. In our country, the production of garlic is associated with high costs for sowing material - about 150 rubles per kilogram. And one hectare requires 1,5-2 tons of seeds.
In many farms, it was planted on a leftover principle. One of the reasons is the high requirements for the quality of the planting material, otherwise all efforts will be in vain. The second is a significant proportion of manual labor and related costs.
The technology of industrial production of garlic involves the use of drip irrigation and specialized equipment, for example, planters, crushing, calibration and drying lines. At the same time, a considerable part of the operations is performed manually (landing, cropping of the arrow during ripening). Restraining farmers and instability of sales amid large deliveries of cheap vegetables from Turkey and China.
- The harvest takes a long time to ripen, so it is difficult to predict profitability, - admits the head of a large farm in the Trunovsky district of Stavropol, Yevgeny Pedoshenko. - From 10 hectares of area I get up to 100 tons of winter garlic varieties Lyubasha and Komsomolets, but now I have given up planting. It happens that in one year they give a good price for garlic, as, for example, in 2017, when wholesalers took a kilogram for one hundred rubles. The new harvest is unrealized, no one wants to take 20 rubles each.
It is worth noting that in terms of taste, domestic garlic is superior to Chinese, since in Russia it is grown in natural soil, and in the Celestial Empire - in a special substrate. Last year, over 7000 tons of garlic (almost all in small farms), which is mainly sold in local markets, was harvested in the Stavropol Territory. In the current, according to the regional Ministry of Agriculture, its sown area will remain the same.
Perhaps the disappearance of Chinese garlic from the Russian shelves will force domestic producers, who until this moment have bypassed this culture, take a closer look at it. But, according to market experts, new technologies and support within the framework of the import substitution policy will help change the situation and make manufacturers interested in it, rather than a possible reduction in supplies from China.
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Alexey Korenev, analyst at Finam Group:
- The situation with coronavirus will certainly negatively affect this segment of agriculture, but it is unlikely that the effect will be long-term. Firstly, the epidemic has already begun to decline and, apparently, within a few weeks we will see a significant improvement in the situation. Secondly, the available reserves, according to the majority of representatives of large retailers, will allow chains to hold out for at least one quarter without a significant deficit, and falling volumes of supplies from China can be partially replaced by increased imports from Egypt, Uzbekistan, Iran, Spain and Azerbaijan.
At the same time, given the seasonality inherent in agricultural production, Russia will not be able to promptly increase its own production - it takes a lot of time. Nevertheless, taking into account the state’s focus on self-sufficiency in most types of agricultural products and a decrease in dependence on imports, new projects for growing garlic, including in the Caucasus, are likely to be successful. Due to its high quality, Russian garlic is in steady demand, and the retail price (230-250 rubles per kilogram) is several times higher than the cost. With such a margin, new players will be able to quickly recover costs.