Domestic boom for Russian strawberry growers
President of the Association of Gardeners of Russia Igor Muhanin, says that as a result of the cool weather, berries in the southern regions ripened later than usual. So, in the mean time, shelves were filled with imported strawberries, primarily from Greece and Turkey. They are still being brought in, despite restrictions, says a representative of the industry.
“Imported berries are harvested at least five days before they get to the shelves, where they are chilled and then defrosted. Russian strawberries are gathered in the morning and are already on the shelves by evening. We don’t need to cool them to 2 degrees, between 10-12 is ample”, explains Muhanin.
Domestic strawberries are grown in open ground, so the berries are grown with the minimal artificial nutrition. We have very rich soil anyway. We don’t apply feed fertilisers to the soil so as not to misalign the balance of minerals. If something is lacking, then we’ll add it. Even the soil in our most infertile regions is richer than that abroad.”
According to the expert, “The norm in Russia is 2-3 times lower than in Europe and the Middle East, for the quantity and volume of treatments of chemicals and foreign substances in the soil.”
The most ‘bountiful berry’ regions in Russia are the Krosnodar and Voronezh regions. Followed by the Belgorod and Tambov regions and Tatarstan. The closer to origin, the lower the price. According to the Association, prices start in Russia from €2.50 a kilo. The prices reach €4.00- 5.75 in regions which are expensive to transport to.
Recently, Russian farmers have begun to actively establish new plantations of strawberries. "Under the current circumstances we can expect to see our farmers providing us with their own berries in the next 2-3 years,' says Muhanin.
However, we can not say that we will be completely independent.
Strawberries will still have to be imported during the period from mid-autumn to early summer, because Russian farmers feel that it would be unprofitable to grow them in greenhouses.
Secondly about 95% of planting material is sent to us from abroad. There are two big centres from which seedlings are supplied to the entire territory of Europe, says Muhanin. One is situated in Holland and the other in Italy.
“Prices are very reasonable. Though they are about two and a half times higher than the Russian seedlings, but the quality can not be competed with,” says the expert. “Harvest of overseas’ plant produce takes place in the year of planting, whereas strawberries of Russian origin are waited on, for more than a year. Indeed they did our growers a favour and did not raise prices following a sharp rise in the Euro in late 2014. We agreed to do it gradually. But this season the cost of seedlings did not rise.”
‘RG’s’ interlocuter lists 10 regions where ‘ideal’ new plantations are being organised. “Now strawberries are being actively taken up by small farming organisations, in private farms. Regional authorities allocate this grant. Plus small farms unite for the purchase of equipment and raw materials. Berry growing is now one of the priorities of start-up farmers. They don’t require much land and give good returns,” the expert shared from his experience.
Prognosis of ‘RG’ experts
The lowest level of prices for cherries, apples, pears, and berries in Russia is seen in September or October, indicates the director of the Institute of Agricultural Marketing, Elena Turina.
According to the institute, in comparison to June, the biggest fall in the prices of cherries and apricots was in July and August, by about 60 percent.
For seeded fruits (eg, apples ) the lowest price level was observed in August and September, a decrease from June by about 30 percent. The upper end of fruit prices is seen in April-May.
“Now they have already started to decline. There is an understanding that demand decreases before the season of a big harvest. Prices begin to decrease from May,” explains ‘RG’s’ source.
The minimum price level for strawberries was set in July. The decrease, compared to June was about 15 percent.
“Now strawberries will get cheaper. They will ripen in private gardens and the demand will decrease. And then cherries will ripen and so on. The offer price will be related to the period of maturation and the increase in the supply of the fruit in Russian production. But the period is very short, from June to October. Come October stonefruits have already began to increase in price by 15%. From November all fruit increases in price,” observes Turina.
Source: rg.ru