The agrocomplex took an additive of rice – Newspaper Kommersant No. 52 (7497) dated 03/28/2023

In the context of a general decline in rice harvesting in the Krasnodar Territory, large holdings are increasing their assets in this sector. Thus, the structures associated with the agricultural complex of the former head of the Ministry of Agriculture Alexander Tkachev acquired about 3 thousand hectares in the region, where more than 15 thousand tons of rice can be harvested per year. It will be difficult to increase the share in the domestic market, but it is possible to increase the export of products after the ban on their export is lifted.

The manager of about 3 thousand hectares of land for growing rice in the Krasnodar Territory LLC Totriss came under the control of those associated with the Agrocomplex. N. I. Tkachev structures, a source told Kommersant in the market. According to the Unified State Register of Legal Entities, on March 13, the owner of 99% of Totriss was Vivi LLC Roman Batalov, the general director for the prospective development of the agricultural complex, who is also considered the son-in-law of the beneficiary of the holding, ex-head of the Ministry of Agriculture Alexander Tkachev. An e-mail is also registered on the domain of the agro-complex for responding to Totriss vacancies on the regional portal of the labor and employment service. The agricultural complex did not provide a comment.

Totriss was previously owned by the Krasnodar-based Agrokhim LLC, which operates the Maryansky rice factory in the region. The company’s website says that more than 15 thousand tons of rice are grown annually on 3 thousand hectares. According to its own data, the plant processes more than 40,000 tons of raw material per year. According to the interlocutor of “Kommersant” in the market, the sale of land could be caused by the need for funds. At the Maryansk rice factory, they also did not answer Kommersant’s questions.

According to Kommersant’s interlocutors in the industry, land for growing rice can cost more than farmland for growing grain. Ilya Volodko, general director of the consulting company Macon, says that in the rice-growing regions of the Krasnodar Territory, prices for agricultural land are about 20% higher. At the end of 2021, Macon estimated the average cost of agricultural land for sale in the Slavyansky district, where Totriss is located, at 285.9 thousand rubles. for 1 ha.

In 2022, the agricultural complex sowed 20.8 thousand hectares with rice and collected 148.8 thousand tons of raw rice. The area under crops decreased by 30% year on year due to an accident at the Fedorovsky hydroelectric complex, which provided moisture to most of the region’s rice fields, follows from the message of the agricultural complex. Thus, the purchase of Totriss assets will allow the agricultural complex to increase the area occupied by rice and production by more than 10%. Another large rice producer, AFG National, sowed 27.8 thousand hectares with rice in 2022.

According to the estimates of the National Rice Union, due to the accident at the Fedorovsky hydroelectric complex, the area of ​​rice fields in the Krasnodar Territory decreased from 119 thousand to 92 thousand hectares, and the gross harvest of rice decreased by 24%, to 650 thousand tons. Rosstat estimated the rice harvest in the country in 2022 at 923 thousand tons against 1.07 million tons a year earlier. Due to problems with the harvest, producers of rice groats notified retail chains of a price increase of 10-30%. According to Rusprodsoyuz, as of mid-March, first-class rice groats in wholesale cost an average of 64.13 thousand rubles. per ton against 51.6 thousand rubles. a year earlier. At the beginning of 2023, raw rice was sold on average for 34.14 thousand rubles. per ton without VAT, having risen in price by 52.4% over the year.

Director General of the Institute for Agricultural Market Studies (IKAR) Dmitry Rylko says that rice production remains promising. There is a certain share of imports in the domestic market, which supports prices, and export channels have been established to Central Asia, the Middle East and North Africa, he notes. So far, the export of rice from the Russian Federation is prohibited until June 30, 2023. Andrey Sizov, director of Sovecon, believes that the agricultural complex is counting on an increase in exports after the restrictions are lifted, noting that the domestic rice market is saturated, and the holding does not have a strong brand in the category. According to IKAR, the Russian Federation previously exported 150-200 thousand tons of rice per year.

Anatoly Kostyrev