Russia breaks records in grain harvest. Record grain harvest will lead to deflation Grain harvest in the Russian Federation

18.07.2017 - 21:03

News of Belarus. Mass grain harvesting began in the south-west of the country, according to the 24 Hours News program on STV.

The start of the agricultural campaign was given by the farmers of the Brest region. Behind the period of serious and thorough preparation, and now the entire fleet of vehicles is in the fields. The main thing is that the weather does not disappoint,

after all, in 2017, due to rains, the harvesting began 10 days later than usual.

Alexander Bubenchik, chief agronomist of an agricultural enterprise:
Squeeze with your hand - it is already getting enough sleep ...

... which means that it is fully ripe and ready for threshing. Humidity indicators also speak about this. Today, the main forces are concentrated on harvesting rapeseed, which is 130 hectares, and they must be dealt with before the evening. Therefore, in the mind of the chief agronomist and those crops that are still in line.

Alexander Bubenchik:
Treticals are good crops. I plan that somewhere there will be about 45 centners per hectare of grain crops.

And while the field is full of 8 combines, among them are two new ones - made in Belarus.

Petr Butrim, STV:
Grain harvesting in one of the most southern regions of the country takes place 10 days later than usual. The main reason is abnormally rainy weather in the first decade of the month. But the most important thing is that a large hail did not cause much damage - only one field suffered from the elements.

The rest, from morning to evening, tirelessly plow combines. Oleksandr Kivachuk has been among the leaders of the Malorita district for more than a year. For the family crew, the new harvesting operation is also a kind of challenge. After all, much depends on diligence in this hot time in every sense.

Alexander Kivachuk, combine operator:
He arrived, serviced the harvester - anointed it, blew it, cleaned it - and into the field.

We work while the sun shines.

And nearby, in the same team, Alexander's brother and father-in-law are removed. This is the 11th season for Yury Barchevsky, and his experienced combine driver certainly has something to compare with.

Yuri Barchevsky, combine operator:
But this year the fields are good. Rapeseed is clean, nowhere overgrown.

In other regions, winter barley is also on the agenda. By the way, today more than half of the plan for this crop has already been completed - about 6,000 fields, the average yield of which exceeds 40 centners per hectare.

Vadim Golovchik, Head of the Department of Agriculture of the Malorita District Executive Committee:
We will complete the harvest within three weeks, depending on how the grain ripens. The rains have passed, today there is enough moisture so that there is no stress or lack of moisture for crops such as corn, potatoes, grasses.

In the meantime, the most active harvesting of winter rape is in the south and west of the country.

The vagaries of the weather are a challenge for farmers, but in the end, technology is key. And they are adapted to our climatic conditions.

 

There was information that chanterelles (especially small ones) cannot be collected.

Leonid Shakhlevich:
It has been proven that it does not particularly harm the environment. That is, the size of the chanterelle does not play a role, and therefore this is not a violation now. You can collect chanterelles of any size, but do not disturb the soil cover. That is, often in order to find such small chanterelles, they raised moss, violated the forest litter. Now that's a violation.

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In 2017, Russia broke the record for the grain harvest - more than 122.5 million tons have already been harvested. This was announced by the Prime Minister of Russia D mitri medvedev at the last government meeting. There was a similar harvest in 1978 - then this figure was 127 million tons, but the area of ​​land under grain crops was then 78 million hectares, and today - only 47.

— This year's harvest can be called a record one in the history of Russia and the Soviet Union. If we restore this area, we will receive an additional 100 million tons of grain. This is about the potential of the grain market. By 2030, we can get not 120, but 150 million tons, and exports will not be 40-45, as today, but already for 70 million. Such a harvest will fully meet the growing demand for food and feed grains in the domestic market, as well as ensure export deliveries, - the Minister of Agriculture of the Russian Federation noted at the meeting Alexander Tkachev.

According to him, already now there is a return on the colossal funds that we invest in agriculture. This year it is 242 billion rubles, which are directed to the implementation of the state program for the development of agriculture.

What problems might arise?

However, a good harvest creates certain problems for farmers. As noted by the owner of the Sverdlovsk network of private bakeries "On Vishneva" Anatoly Pavlov, the purchase of grain is now at low prices.

The story is very long and the peasants are in a panic. Harvest from the field can be sold at 5,000 rubles per ton, for comparison - in May, the cost of grain was 11,500 rubles per ton, however, from a warehouse. At the same time, the cost of materials spent on sowing grain is 4,500 rubles. per ton. Although bakers will benefit - flour prices also fell by 1,500 rubles in three weeks, but these fluctuations can be attributed to seasonal factors, February is an indicative month, - Anatoly Pavlov told OG.

This is due to the fall in purchase prices for grain and the loading of elevators, which until recently stored the harvest of previous years. The situation required the direct intervention of the Russian Government, which allocated subsidies for the transportation of grain from remote areas of Altai and Siberia to the terminals of the Novorossiysk port. Despite the fact that over the past three years, port workers have managed to double the volume of grain transshipment, the capacities are overloaded, and the reserves for increasing the volumes are low.

What to do?

The situation in the future may be changed by the construction of the railway part of the Crimean bridge, the completion of which is scheduled for December 2019. There are three deep-sea terminals in Crimea capable of handling grain. Now this infrastructure is not used due to the blockade of the Crimea - grain is not supplied from Ukraine. There is no possibility to transport grain from Russia either.

Secondly, it is necessary to speed up work on the creation of new wholesale and logistics centers. This will reduce losses during transportation, which reach 30 percent. The Ministry of Agriculture plans to build near million-plus cities and large transport and logistics hubs, such as Moscow and the Moscow region, the Leningrad region and St. Petersburg, Rostov, Sverdlovsk and others. The centers will be tied into a single network that will allow tracking and regulating the flow of goods between the federal districts of the country. The program started in 2014, and some of the facilities, for example, in Primorye, have already been put into operation. However, their number is not enough - this is the only way to explain the proposal of the head of the agro-industrial complex Alexander Tkachev about plans to build an additional 36 centers.

And lastly, as Dmitry Medvedev noted, it is necessary to increase the processing of grain into a product with a higher value added.

By and large, we have no other choice. Part of the funds allocated for grain interventions and subsidies for the transportation of grain, it makes sense to invest in the creation of a network of plants for deep processing of wheat in the Altai, Western and Eastern Siberia. This will allow creating a product of higher processing and solving logistics problems. At the same time, added value will remain in the country and new jobs will be created. A similar plant was built in Ishim (Tyumen region). Investments amounted to 5 billion rubles, and the processing capacity is 120 thousand tons of wheat per year. The final product of processing is alcohol, compound feed and lysine, which will be imported to the countries of the Middle East and Asia (Iran, Iraq, Kazakhstan). The payback period of investments is 7 years.

But there are not enough new deep processing plants, the director of the Finagro company believes Evgeny Shestakov:“This is a very expensive production and there are no analogues to the Ishim Lisine Plant in the immediate vicinity. In our region, unfortunately, there are no grain consumers of this level, and we can only count on the Sverdlovsk poultry farm, which buys part of the grown crop from local producers. This makes it necessary to export grain to neighboring regions. The strategic mistake is to increase production in the absence of markets. One can understand the southern regions of the country, which are able to export large volumes of products, taking advantage of the proximity of the port infrastructure.”

About 6 trillion rubles are needed for the planned state program for the construction of 100-120 deep processing plants with a capacity of 20 million tons of grain. After the launch of these plants, stable demand for grain in the domestic market will increase. At the same time, each plant, purchasing grain worth 1 billion rubles annually, will be able to produce products worth 5 billion rubles. Only planning the demand for grain with the help of its deep processing can smooth out seasonal price fluctuations and give farmers confidence in the future.

By the way

Despite the worsening weather conditions, field work continues everywhere in the Sverdlovsk region, this was stated by acting. Minister of Agroindustrial Complex and Food of the Region Dmitry Degtyarev. At the moment, Sverdlovsk agrarians have finished harvesting fodder crops for livestock needs. Collected 31.3 centners of feed per animal, with a plan of 30 centners. Also, grain crops were harvested from the fields 92 percent of the plan, the gross grain harvest amounted to 755 thousand tons. More than 90 percent of the plan has been harvested potatoes, 215,000 tons of tubers have been stored, and according to the plan, 218,000 tons are to be harvested. Also, 61 percent of the vegetable harvest was harvested from the fields of the region.

• Published in No. 186 dated October 6, 2017

Most crops were weeded out with a delay of one to two and a half weeks. As a result, the yield potential was reduced for sunflower, increased humidity led to an increase in diseases and a reduction in the harvest of potatoes and vegetables, as well as losses in forage grass production. There was also a shortfall in corn, only under the influence of drought events. However, for other positions, such conditions have led to growth and harvest records.

The most important of them is once again for grain. According to the forecasts of the Ministry of Agriculture, the gross harvest in weight after processing will exceed the historically highest production rate, which was achieved back in 1978, and will amount to at least 130 million tons. Experts estimate the 2018 harvest at 133 million tons. As of mid-November, grain and leguminous crops were threshed from 97% of the harvested area, from which 137.7 million tons of grain in bunker weight were harvested. The yield also updated the record and reached 30.2 centners per hectare (in 2016 - 27.2 centners per hectare).

The main contribution to such a high production was again made by wheat. Its final harvest will be at least 10 million tons more than a year earlier - about 84 million tons. By the way, this result will allow Russia to become the world leader in agricultural exports in the 2017/18 season. The barley harvest is expected to be high. As of mid-November, 21.7 million tons were already threshed (in 2016 - 19.1 million tons). And our country in this agricultural year will be one of the few that have received a good harvest. And this further during the season against the backdrop of record low stocks and stable demand promises good price levels for positions.

But for corn, due to drought in some regions, a decrease of about 2 million tons is expected. Initially, experts predicted record production - more than 15 million tons, which should have been facilitated by record areas. But in the end, it will be possible to collect no more than 12.5-13.5 million tons.

The main oil-bearing crop, sunflower, also suffered due to unfavorable weather. There was a delay in sowing, which slowed down the development of plants and led to a later harvest. A number of regions will probably not have time to process the crops in time, and some of them will leave unharvested in the winter. Whether it will be possible to harvest the remaining sunflower in the spring is a big question. As of mid-November, only 8.8 million tons were threshed, while on the same date in 2016 - 10.8 million tons.

But soy was pleased with the record. Its production should increase by 15-17% to 3.5-3.6 million tons. This is perhaps the most stable oilseed crop in terms of yield growth over the past decade. Record-breaking prospects are also predicted for rapeseed. After a two-year decline in production, the volume of agricultural harvest will finally increase. As of mid-November, 92% of the rapeseed area was threshed, and the harvest amounted to 1.6 million tons (1.1 million tons a year earlier).

A good result is predicted for sugar beets. Not a record, but the second largest. Yes, a record is not needed, because the predicted volumes will be enough to produce sugar at the level of last year - 6.2 million tons. ).

But for potatoes and vegetables, production will decrease. Previously, experts threatened to reduce the potato harvest by 900,000 tons only because of a decrease in the area in agricultural enterprises. In November, the backlog was smaller: 6.5 million tons of tubers were dug up against 6.9 million tons a year earlier. However, due to the increased level of various diseases that have developed due to high humidity, the keeping quality of potatoes has noticeably decreased. And it is possible that most of the crop will be lost in storage.

Good results in the production of most agricultural crops have already led to a fall in prices. The profitability of even traditionally one of the most profitable sunflower and sugar beet will decrease. The state should support the market, but for now, however, as always, farmers have to rely only on themselves.

The year 2017 was quite difficult for agricultural producers of the Russian Federation, in 21 regions of the country an emergency regime was introduced. But, despite the complex of adverse weather conditions (drought, hail, flood), as well as waterlogging during the harvesting period, it was possible to collect record yields of individual crops.

In the current year, a record gross harvest of grains and legumes was obtained - 134.1 million tons in net weight, which is 11.2% more than in 2016 (120.7 million tons) and 35.3% more than average production for 5 years (average for 5 years (2012-2016) - 98.1 million tons).

For the first time in the history of Russia, 85.8 million tons of wheat in net weight were harvested, which is 17.1% more than in 2016 (73.3 million tons) and 50.4% more than the average production over 5 years (average for 5 years - 56.5 million tons).

At the end of the year, a record amount of buckwheat was harvested - 1.5 million tons (2016 - 1.2 million tons).

Among the achievements of crop production in 2017, it should be noted the production of soybean oil seeds, the gross harvest of which is 3.6 million tons, which is 5 times more than the production in 1990, 1.6 times higher than the average for 5 years (2.3 million tons) and 14.1% more than in 2016 (3.1 million tons).

A record gross harvest of rapeseed was harvested - 1.5 million tons in net weight, which is 7 times more than production in 1990, 34.9% higher than the average for 5 years (1.1 million tons) and 50.5% more than in 2016 (998.9 thousand tons).

Sunflower harvested on an area of ​​6.9 million hectares (87.8% of the area), threshed 10.4 million tons (in 2016 - 11.4 million tons), with a yield of 15.2 c/ha (in 2016 - 15.9 q/ha). Gross harvest in weight after completion is 9.6 million tons. Sunflower harvesting is not yet completed.

The sown area of ​​sugar beet amounted to 1.2 million hectares, 48.2 million tons were dug up in test weight, with a yield of 430.2 centners per hectare. This volume will ensure that the existing processing capacities are fully loaded and produce 6.5 million tons of sugar, or 4.8% more than in 2016 (6.2 million tons in 2016). In 2016, sugar self-sufficiency reached 94.6%.

According to the agro-industrial complex authorities, the gross potato harvest in all categories of farms amounted to 29.6 million tons. 6.7 million tons of potatoes were harvested in agricultural organizations and peasant (farmer) farms (in 2016 - 6.8 million tons), with a yield of 195.9 c / ha (in 2016 - 219.1 c / ha) .

The gross harvest of vegetables in farms of all categories amounted to 16.3 million tons, which is 51 thousand tons higher than last year (in 2016 - 16.3 million tons). Vegetables in agricultural organizations and peasant (farm) farms were harvested 6.0 million tons (2016 - 5.5 million tons).

The gross harvest of fruits and berries amounted to 2.9 million tons, which is 11% lower than in 2016 (in 2016 - 3.3 million tons).

The resulting harvest makes it possible to meet most of the country's domestic food needs, increase its export potential, and also make a significant contribution to ensuring the country's food independence and import substitution.

Sowing of winter crops. The forecast for sowing winter crops for the 2018 harvest was 17.4 million hectares, which is at the level of the previous year. However, according to the operational data of the agroindustrial complex management bodies, as of December 25, 2017, 251.8 thousand hectares less winter crops (17.1 million hectares) were sown than on the same date in 2016 (17.3 million hectares). The sowing of winter crops was complicated by unfavorable weather and climatic conditions. According to Roshydromet, in a number of regions of the Central, Volga, North-Western federal districts and in the north-east of Western Siberia, the conditions for sowing in the second half of August - in September were complicated due to frequent rains, and in the extreme southern regions of the Central and South- eastern regions of the Volga Federal Districts due to a lack of moisture in the soil. In a number of these regions, winter grain crops were sown on 30-50% of the areas later than optimal, and in some southwestern regions of the Northwestern Federal District, later than the extremely late dates.

According to Roshydromet, as of November 25, 2017, in the whole territory of the Russian Federation, winter crops are in good and satisfactory condition on an area of ​​16.24 million hectares (95% of the total sown area). The area with poor condition of crops (sparse and unsprouted) is 0.88 million hectares or 5% of the total sown area (0.52 million hectares in 2016, on average for the period 2012-2016 - 1.34 million hectares) .

On September 28, Minister of Agriculture of the Russian Federation Alexander Tkachev spoke at a meeting of the Government of Russia, which was chaired by Dmitry Medvedev.

The head of the Ministry of Agriculture reported on the preliminary results of the harvest. Alexander Tkachev noted that this year, for the first time in 15 years, the total sown area exceeded 80 million hectares. The positive dynamics of increasing the area of ​​cultivated agricultural land will continue in the future.

“The Ministry of Agriculture of Russia was cautious in assessing the final gross harvest due to adverse weather conditions in a number of regions, but today 85% of the sown area has been harvested and almost 122 million tons of grain in bunker weight have been harvested. We can say with confidence that a record harvest will be harvested, perhaps in the entire history of Russia and, of course, the Soviet Union. I want to remind you that we had a similar harvest in 1978 - this is 127 million tons, but this year we will beat this record, I have no doubt about it., - said Alexander Tkachev.

The Minister noted that there were no such indicators for the harvest in the entire history of the country. The grain harvest harvested this year will not only cover domestic needs for food and feed grains, but also ensure export supplies of Russian agricultural products.

In addition, the growth of the grain harvest is able to stimulate the development of animal husbandry within the country, by increasing the fodder base. Today, grain consumption for feed reaches 44 million tons, with the prospect of growing to 46 million tons by 2020.

Speaking about the dynamics of exports, Alexander Tkachev noted that to date, more than 10 million tons of grain have been exported, which is 34% more than the result of the same period last year. With a favorable situation on the world grain market, Russia plans to export about 45 million tons. Including the forecasted export of 30 million tons of wheat, which will allow the country to take a leading position in the export of this crop.

“To stimulate grain exports, the Ministry of Agriculture of Russia proposes to allocate 3 billion rubles to compensate for railway tariffs for the transportation of grain from regions remote from port transshipment - Siberia, the Urals, the Volga region and Central Russia. The relevant draft Government Decree has been prepared and is already being approved by the concerned authorities.”, - noted Alexander Tkachev.

Continuing the theme of record harvests, the head of the Ministry of Agriculture mentioned the high rates of sugar beet harvest - 52 million tons. Such a beet harvest will make it possible to fully provide Russian processing plants with raw materials and produce 6.5 million tons of sugar. As a result, the country will retain its leadership in the global sugar production market. The export potential of the industry this year is estimated at 700 thousand tons.

Good progress has been made in the harvesting of vegetable crops. To date, more than 2 million tons of vegetables have been harvested. The harvest of greenhouse vegetables is growing, the volume of harvested crops is 21% ahead of last year. It is planned to continue the positive dynamics through the construction of new greenhouse complexes and the laying of orchards.

“Summing up the results of this year's harvest, farmers are simultaneously laying the foundation for new records for the next harvesting season. The sowing campaign of winter crops has begun. More than 11 million hectares have already been sown, out of 17.5 million hectares allocated for winter crops.”- said Alexander Tkachev.

According to the head of the Ministry of Agriculture of Russia, the key to a good harvest lies in a combination of factors, namely, in the timely and full provision of plant protection products, fuel, and fertilizers. Purchases of fertilizers have increased by 10% to date.

The readiness of agricultural machinery will allow to complete seasonal field work in the optimal time. However, it is necessary to increase the pace of purchases of agricultural machinery, including by maintaining subsidies in this area.

At the end of his speech Alexander Tkachev on behalf of the agrarians of the country, he thanked the Government of the country, which creates all the necessary conditions for the effective implementation of seasonal field work. And the resulting record harvest is proof of that.

In turn, the Chairman of the Government of the Russian Federation Dmitry Medvedev highly appreciated the results of the harvesting campaign in the country.

“In general, the harvesting campaign is close to completion. In almost all areas there is a positive trend. And in some areas a record has been set. I consider the results of the harvesting campaign in 2017 to be very successful.”- said the Chairman of the Government of the Russian Federation.

The Prime Minister of Russia drew attention to the fact that, according to the order of the President of the country V.V. Putin, in the next three years, funding for agriculture will be increased by 20 billion rubles annually. This will ensure the further growth of the country's agricultural sector.