Saratov farmers plan to harvest 4.4 million tons of grain and 1.8 million tons of sunflower this year

The Ministry of Agriculture of the Saratov region discussed the readiness of the elevator complex to accept the grain of the new crop.

On the eve of the 2023 harvesting campaign, the participants of the extended meeting, held at the site of the regional Ministry of Agriculture, discussed the readiness of the region's elevator complex to accept new crop grain.

The discussion, chaired by the Deputy Chairman of the Regional Government - Minister of Agriculture of the Region Roman Kovalsky, was attended by the Chairman of the Agrarian Committee of the Regional Parliament Ivan Baboshkin, the Chairman of the Agricultural Association of the Saratov Region Alexander Ratachkov, the Deputy Ministers of Agriculture of the Region and specialized specialists, representatives of the railway and supervisory authorities, heads and representatives of elevators and grain-receiving enterprises, grain traders.

“The current situation in the fields of the region allows us to predict the grain harvest in volumes above the annual average. Potentially, we forecast about 4.4 million tons of grain and 1.8 million tons of sunflower. It is necessary to understand whether we can accommodate the entire crop, taking into account regional storage capacities, ensure the transportation of grain both on the domestic market and for export, and its operational certification,” Roman Kovalsky outlined the task.

Deputy Minister of Agriculture of the region for the development of the food and processing industry Natalia Marievskaya said that record grain harvests in 2022 prompted large enterprises in the industry to build new and modernize existing capacities for storing and shipping grain, agricultural producers to build their own warehouse-type granaries.

To date, 52 operating elevators and grain-receiving enterprises have 3.4 million tons of one-time storage tanks. Over the past five years, the total storage capacity has increased by 400 thousand tons. In addition, it is planned to use sleeves for storing grain crops that are produced in the region. “According to the monitoring, elevators and grain-receiving enterprises are ready to receive the harvest and ensure its qualitative and quantitative preservation,” she summed up.

During the discussion, which took place in the format of an open dialogue, a wide range of issues was considered, including the price situation in the grain market, the procedure for connecting facilities under construction to energy carriers, state monitoring of crops and work in the FSIS "Grain".

As a result of the meeting, Roman Kovalsky set the task for the agricultural producers of the region to analyze the free storage capacity in the context of each region, as well as to consider the possibility of helping regions affected by drought this year.