Food prices (such as potatoes or sugar) may rise. What is it connected with? First of all, with a shortage of plant protection products (PPP). Well, of course, there is a risk that prices for these scarce funds may rise. Not enough protection, it already threatens with a loss of yield from 10 to 60%. Raw materials for plant protection products are purchased mainly from China, which is trying to reduce its environmental impact and reduce the production of unsustainable goods. The Ministry of Agriculture, following the example of mineral fertilizers, has introduced monitoring of the availability of plant protection products for farmers.
To control the situation, monitoring of the provision of regions with plant protection products has been introduced since January 2022, Rossiyskaya Gazeta reports with reference to the Ministry of Agriculture. The department, together with the Ministry of Industry and Trade, "is working on resolving issues related to the timely provision of farmers with chemicals." Alternative supplies are also being considered to stabilize the situation on the PPP market, the ministry added.
Such decisions were made following a meeting at the Ministry of Agriculture on January 13, chaired by the new Deputy Minister Andrei Razin. During it, the Russian Union of Producers of Chemical Plant Protection Products warned of a possible increase in prices for PPPs in 2022 by 20% due to an increase in the cost of active ingredients (raw materials for PPPs) and higher logistics costs.
According to the regional authorities of the agro-industrial complex, the increase in the price of diquat-containing and glyphosate-containing preparations (herbicides) may range from 20 to 80%, which may lead to a decrease in their availability for agricultural producers this year. Accordingly, the risks of preserving the harvest of agricultural crops are increasing, the Ministry of Agriculture admits.
Russia is completely dependent on the supply of active substances from abroad - we do not synthesize them, says Gor Manukyan, a leading expert at Kynetec (Kleffmann Group). About 60% of the total imported volume of active substances comes from China. According to the expert, by the end of 2021, prices for most active substances in China increased by 1,5-2 times compared to 2020. What was caused by the energy crisis. In addition, there were logistical problems. While prices have stabilized. But now the “green” agenda is gaining momentum in China, and this is already a longer-term factor that will have an impact on the global market for plant protection products, the expert notes.
At the same time, there is currently no major alternative supplier of active ingredients. Some international companies have their production sites in other countries, which to some extent reduces the risks for them. However, their capacities will not completely cover the demand for Chinese raw materials, Manukyan explains.
Failure to apply PPP can lead to the spread of weeds, diseases and pests. That will negatively affect not only the quantity, but also the quality of the future harvest.
The most demanding crops for protection are sugar beets, potatoes, vegetables and fruits. For example, during the growing season, potatoes are treated with fungicides four times.
According to Tatyana Gubina, Head of Staff of the Potato Union, there is no shortage of plant protection products yet, since the main purchases are made before the beginning of the agricultural season, the second wave - in the season itself. At the same time, potatoes are a capricious crop. He is very responsive to the weather, diseases, insects. And now the climate is changing, so protection should be as reliable as possible, Gubina notes. Otherwise, this threatens to reduce the potato harvest, which, for various reasons, has not been harvested enough in the last two seasons. As a result, a significant increase in prices. According to Rosstat, over the past year, potatoes have risen in price by more than one and a half times.
According to Irina Logacheva, General Director of Bio-Tone, in addition to a sharp increase in prices for plant protection products (for some items by 130% compared to prices in September last year), there is already a shortage of glyphosate group preparations on the market, as well as disinfectants used for processing seeds.