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In Russia, extensive potato harvesting has begun, especially in key regions such as the Central and Volga regions. Currently, early varieties are being harvested. The Executive Director of the Potato Union, Alexey Krasilnikov, reported that the yield is showing good results across Russia - one ton per hectare higher than last year. In other words, the harvesting process is going quite successfully. However, it is expected that the harvest will be lower than the previous year. According to the Ministry of Agriculture forecast, this year it will amount to 7.2 million tons compared to over 8.6 million tons last year.
Potatoes have been harvested on an area of 21 thousand hectares, which is 7% of the plan and 2 thousand hectares more than last year. 606 thousand tons have been collected, 80 thousand tons more than last year at the same date. At the same time, the Union has information that in some regions adverse weather conditions are negatively affecting the potato crop, especially due to abnormally high temperatures. The heat has partially hindered the growth of potatoes, and potato growers are already concluding that the selected potatoes may be less than expected, adds Krasilnikov.
"The optimal temperature for potato growth is 22-24 degrees Celsius above zero. When the temperature rises to 28 degrees Celsius and above, the tubers go into a 'dormant' state and stop gaining mass. At higher temperatures, as witnessed in southern regions - for example, in the Rostov and Astrakhan regions, where the soil temperature reached +50 degrees Celsius - potatoes start baking and can no longer be stored and marketed in trading enterprises," the expert adds. High temperatures also lead to increased irrigation costs, which affects the production costs. Krasilnikov also notes that this year some farms had to switch to night harvesting, which also requires additional labor costs.
"This year we also noticed that in the same region, the weather has different effects. For example, in the Moscow region, enterprises in the Kolomensky and Luhovitsky districts have successfully started harvesting early varieties, while in the Dmitrovsky district, in the northern part of the region, farms are facing soil overmoistening, which negatively affects the pace of harvest. It is particularly challenging for farms that did not implement dual land improvement - drainage and irrigation," the expert explains.
Regarding price expectations, the union predicts some price increase due to rising production costs. "A week ago, at the Field Day in the Samara region, potato growers from the Astrakhan region reported observing an increase in purchase prices and fairly high buyer activity," says Krasilnikov. However, he adds that the situation may change in September-October, and final conclusions and forecasts for the upcoming season should be made after the harvest is completed.
The events in the Kursk and Belgorod regions, where a State of Emergency is declared, and people are being evacuated from border areas, are not expected to significantly impact potato harvesting, according to Krasilnikov. "There are potato farms in those regions, but these regions are not even among the top ten leaders in the production of commercial potatoes, although the Kursk region grows many tubers in the private sector," he clarifies.
As for open-field vegetables, as of August 7, 603.5 thousand tons have been harvested since the beginning of the year in the organized sector, which is 21.5% more than in the same period last year, according to the Ministry of Agriculture website. The leaders in open-field vegetable production are the Astrakhan and Volgograd regions, Krasnodar Krai, as well as Kabardino-Balkaria and Dagestan.
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