50 varieties of imported rice suddenly appeared in Russian stores
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Where does it come from and what is the reason for abundance
The government of the Russian Federation “in order to protect the domestic market” extended the embargo on rice exports from January 1 to June 30 this year. The restrictions will not affect buyers from the EAEU countries, as well as Abkhazia and South Ossetia.
According to the Ministry of Agriculture, about 800,000 tons of rice were harvested in the Russian Federation last year, compared to 1.1 million a year ago. That is, about 300 thousand tons we did not sleep enough in the bins of our homeland. Due to a poor harvest of domestic rice, about 50 varieties of imported rice appeared in retail trade.
The main domestic producer of this crop (about 70%) is the Krasnodar Territory. But last year, two major man-made accidents occurred at the dam of the Fedorovsky hydroelectric complex. This hydraulic structure propped up the level of the Kuban River, from where the water flowed directly to the rice plantations. As a result, about 30% of rice fields were not sown and the country did not receive the expected harvest.
Rice and buckwheat are like twin brothers for Russians. If we buy something just in case of a fire, then these cereals are the first thing. Rice is like that lifesaver. According to nutritionists, it is very useful for the body, easy to digest, allows you to get rid of toxins and prevents the deposition of salts. According to Rusprodsoyuz, Russians consume about 1.5 times more rice than its “sister” buckwheat.
The harvest of buckwheat in the 22nd year was a record one, for once it has fallen in price, a kilogram package today costs from 90 rubles. The same package of rice – from 100 to 165 rubles. depending on the quality. Over the first half of last year, compared to the same period in 2021, 1 kg of rice in stores has risen in price by almost 30%, and in the wholesale link by 67%. What will happen next with the prices for this cereal and will the destruction of the dam in the Krasnodar Territory affect them so much?
“The Fedorovsky hydroelectric complex, like the Krasnodar reservoir with its irrigation networks, was created specifically for growing rice in the 1960s,” says Igor Abakumov, Ph.D., host of the Village Chas program. – At that time, a liberation struggle against the colonialists was going on in Southeast Asia. Then it was decided not to wait for supplies from abroad, but to switch to import substitution. Our rice is a Cold War project. Even a saying was born: “The water of the Kuban River flows, where the Bolsheviks order.”
In general, we have completely replaced imports. We grow an average of 1.1 million tons on our own, and we consume about 600 thousand tons. However, our rice is not particularly in demand among buyers. It is round-grained, suitable only for making rice porridges, which are not very popular even among children, not to mention adults.
You can’t cook a real pilaf from such rice – you need a long-grain one. We buy it in Vietnam, Laos, Thailand and the countries of the Asia-Pacific region. In a word, under no circumstances will there be a shortage of rice in the Russian Federation, and prices, according to some analysts, have already reached their ceiling. Imported, from which we prepare pilaf, is more expensive than Russian, but in the combination of “price-quality” it is noticeably preferable to those varieties that are grown in the Krasnodar Territory, Dagestan and Crimea.
In this regard, the expert had two questions to the authorities. First, how efficiently were the funds that were annually allocated from the federal budget for the repair and maintenance of the Fedorovsky hydroelectric complex spent? After all, two major accidents within a few months is something out of the ordinary.
It is clear that the hydroelectric complex will now have to be restored practically from scratch. Secondly, why is its restoration at the expense of the federal treasury, if the system provides water to private rice fields?
Newspaper headline:
Rice covered with a wave
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