Leu-AGRO News Update on the Durum Wheat Production in Russia !!!
The third meeting of the Ministry of Agriculture in the last two years concerning the production of durum wheat in Russia can become revolutionary.
In 2021, there was a shortage of durum flour on the Russian market. That is why the pasta producers appealed to the government.
The increase in durum wheat production was recognized as an objective necessity associated with the deficit and the outstripping need of the processing industry. Despite the small share of its grain in the overall structure, the main products in the form of pasta, semolina and cereals are strategic in the structure of the diet of Russians. Moreover, the first steps were taken in solving the problem: an increase in sown areas and a separate line on durum wheat in statistics.
Looking at the numbers
The Ministry of Agriculture said that in 2022 the sown areas under durum wheat varieties will be increased from 650-700 thousand hectares to 790 thousand hectares. And by 2025, according to experts, this figure can reach 1.8 million tons.
Rosselkhozcenter should ensure the collection of information on the need and availability in the subjects of the Russian Federation of durum wheat seeds (triticum durum) on an ongoing basis.
80% of the harvest of durum wheat in the country is provided by seven regions, namely:
- Orenburg
- Chelyabinsk
- Omsk
- Saratov
- Samara
- Volgograd
- Altai Territory
The Ministry of Agriculture estimates the amount of durum wheat received in 2021 at 735 thousand tons. If we discard 130 thousand tons – the need for seeds, there will be about 600 thousand tons. Of these, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, 95 thousand tons have been exported – this is already 500 thousand tons. The Russian Union of Flour Milling and Cereal Enterprises cites the following figures: the provision of industry with grits is 400 thousand tons, with its output of 70%. At the same time, 1 million 485 thousand tons of pasta are produced per year.
The problems of the industry are as follows:
- instability of production;
- shortage of seeds;
- costly production & logistics (the production is far away from processing enterprises);
- lack of statistics & quality standards (the current GOST 9353-2016 does not take into account the modern requirements of the Russian pasta manufacturers).
The production and processing of durum wheat requires more expensive technologies compared to soft wheat. Low yield – high cost.
Actions that will lead to the development of the production of high-quality durum wheat:
- per-hectare support;
- determination of a list of valuable seed varieties;
- increase in the amount of subsidies for elite seeds;
- compensation of a part of grain transportation tariffs;
- compensation of costs to processors for the grain quality.