The storage deficit for potatoes and vegetables exceeds 2.5 million tons

Seed Potato

Vegetables

Market & Price Trends

Innovation & Technology

Published Mar 30, 2024

Tridge summary

Russia is facing a significant challenge in its agricultural sector due to a shortage of storage capacity for its record harvests of potatoes and open-ground vegetables. Last year, the country produced 8.5 million tons of potatoes and 6 million tons of vegetables but had only about 8 million tons of storage space available, falling short of the needed 11 million tons. This discrepancy has led to lower prices for producers, especially those lacking adequate storage. Efforts to modernize storage facilities are hindered by the high cost of imported equipment, though there is potential for farmers to collaborate on storage solutions. The Russian Ministry of Agriculture is responding by increasing compensation for storage facility creation and modernization, aiming to expand total storage capacity to 9.3 million tons by next year and to 9 million tons by 2026.

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Original content

It is important not only to grow and harvest the crop, but also to preserve it. Farmers are especially worried when they managed to collect record volumes. Last year, about 8.5 million tons of potatoes and 6 million tons of open-ground vegetables were dug in Russia, recalled Aleksey Krasilnikov, executive director of the Union of Potato and Vegetable Market Participants, member of the Expert Council of the National Agrarian Agency. It is worth noting that last year was the most productive year for potatoes in the last 30 years, and for vegetables the increase compared to 2022 was at least 4%. Consequently, the demand for already scarce storage facilities has only increased. According to Krasilnikov’s estimates, the available potato and vegetable storage capacity is about 8 million tons, while there should be 11. “Not all products are subject to long-term off-season storage. Some of it, especially produced in the south of the country, goes off the rails to different regions,” the ...

Source: Rosng