Russian producers of fruits and berries requested subsidies from the state

Most likely, the prices for domestic fruits and berries at the end of this season will not please us. The producers of these crops, as if recollecting themselves at the last moment, turned to the government with a request to compensate them for part of the costs for each kilogram of products sold. Otherwise, growth, they say, do not expect domestic volumes, and we will sit on an “imported needle”. How justified is this lobbying pressure – understood “MK. …

Producers of fruits and berries are asking the state to reimburse them for part of the costs of growing these crops. In the image and likeness of state support for the meat and dairy industry. That is, for a kilogram of goods sold, the budget should, according to the intention of the authors of the letter, pay the manufacturer a specific amount. So that he had an incentive to develop his economy. In this case, representatives of the fruit and berry industry are talking about subsidies in the amount of 10 rubles per kilogram of products.

Perhaps the authors of this appeal to the Ministry of Agriculture of the Russian Federation were inspired by the government’s decision to allocate 117 million rubles to the owners of private farms for growing vegetables and potatoes. Such a decision was indeed made, but, according to MK, the money never reached the addressees, and it is unlikely that they will reach the current spring sowing campaign.

As the authors of the “petition” to the government note, the level of self-sufficiency in fruit crops in Russia (apples, pears, cherries, cherries, and so on) is 45%, while according to the food security doctrine today it should be at least 60%.

The missing volumes come to us through imports from Moldova (30% of all deliveries), Serbia (18%) and Turkey (16%). It is not surprising that the prices for “overseas” fruits are going through the roof and many Russians cannot afford them. Apples from 60 to 180 rubles per kilogram, pears up to 300, strawberries from 350 and more, peaches and nectarines – 250-300 rubles …

Things are even worse with the cultivation of their own berries – here import dependence reaches 75-80%.

The main problem of the industry is that over the past five years, the cost of producing fruits and berries has grown by an average of 60%, while wholesale and retail prices have grown by only 33%.

In a word, all production goes at a loss to the farmer, although prices in stores are constantly growing, and how could it be otherwise if the logistics of import supplies are becoming more expensive day by day?

Experts are pessimistic about the appeal of fruit and berry producers to ministerial officials. They say that the subsidizing mechanism is designed to increase the area, and not to return per hectare. The agricultural department thus encourages an extensive development path. In pursuit of the state ruble, many farms increase their areas, and the next year they realize that they are not able to maintain them and abandon new hectares. Officially, the area of ​​modern horticultural farms in Russia over the past 10 years has increased to 70%, but in fact, in terms of production, they are less than 50%.

The head of the Berry Union of Russia, Irina Koziy, told MK that she supported the appeal in principle. But only subsidies per kilogram of sold products should not be allocated to everyone in a row, but only to those farms that grow varieties of fruits and berries that are in demand from the buyer. Then state support will directly affect domestic prices.

However, no one knows what the reaction of the Ministry of Agriculture will be to the initiative of gardeners-lobbyists.

“Exactly a year ago, our union also applied to the government with a similar request, but they were refused,” says Koziy.

– What are the views on the harvest of berries this year? Can you reduce dependence on imports?

– Forecasts are still difficult to give. Our industry entered the season normally, but many berry farms suffered to varying degrees from the May frosts. In some regions, nighttime temperatures dropped to minus 8 degrees. According to reports from the field, crop losses can range from 5% to 30%. Most frosts hit currants.

In general, the share of Russian berries in the domestic market will remain under 20%. Of course, we cannot do without imports. And, despite the sanctions, it goes on, there is no shortage of berries in trade.

– What prevents to increase production volumes?

– There are many problems, first of all, these are economic sanctions and restrictions. Medicines and equipment have become much more difficult to obtain, even though their prices have risen sharply. For example, fertilizers on our farms are applied only by drip, which means they must be water-soluble. And we get the active substance for them by import.

Labor costs have skyrocketed as harvesting is done by hand. In the cost of production, the salary is about 30%. According to the results of last year, the cost of production increased by an average of 20-30%.

– Are there any berries that we do not buy, but rather sell on the world market?

– Small volumes of sea buckthorn are exported, this is a purely Russian product.