World meat industry news

According to the Ministry of Agriculture, the gross grain harvest in Russia in 2023 may reach 125-127 million tons, including 80-85 million tons of wheat. This is stated in the message of the ministry following the results of the meeting, which was held by the head of the Ministry of Agriculture Dmitry Patrushev. The Ministry has formed the structure of sown areas for the harvest of 2023, which involves ensuring a balance of supply in the agricultural market and the maximum profitability of crop production.

According to Patrushev, the total sown area next year will grow by about 50 thousand hectares and will exceed 82 million hectares. The area under grains and legumes, according to preliminary estimates, will amount to 47.6 million hectares, which is 136 thousand hectares more than this year. “At the same time, at present, the department sees the need to reduce the area under wheat by almost 0.5 million hectares. This is necessary to maintain the balance of prices and stabilize the domestic market in the interests of all participants, as well as to realize the record harvest of the current year,” the report says.

The Ministry of Agriculture believes that in order to maintain the stability of the crop rotation, it is necessary to increase the area under spring barley by 400 thousand hectares and under grain legumes, primarily peas, by at least 125 thousand hectares. According to the experts cited by the agency, the global market for these crops is quite capacious, and Russia can strengthen its position on it. In this regard, the Ministry of Agriculture, together with exporters, plans to develop a program for the export of barley, peas and other legumes. The area under such socially sensitive crops as rice and buckwheat is planned just above the current year and is sufficient to meet all needs, the ministry emphasizes.

In addition, an increase in the area under sugar beet and soybeans is announced for the next year. Sunflower crops need at least 9.8 million hectares, oil flax - at least 2.2 million hectares, which is more than the original plan. An increase in the area under vegetables and potatoes in the organized sector is also predicted. According to the head of the Ministry of Agriculture, in general, the structure of sown areas has been formed and will be approved by December 20.

The general director of the analytical company ProZerno, Vladimir Petrichenko, believes that the forecasts given by the Ministry of Agriculture are still very unsteady. “Before the recent tropical downpours, I had more optimistic views than the Ministry of Agriculture on the next year’s harvest - 90 million tons of wheat and about 130 million tons of grain,” the expert told Agroinvestor. He believes that the decrease in the area under wheat next year is likely to be greater than the Ministry of Agriculture predicts, at least for the reason that winter crops have already been sown by 700,000 hectares less this year. “In order to fulfill the plans for the sale of the 2022 wheat crop, the Ministry of Agriculture should increase grain purchases for the intervention fund to 8-10 million tons. This is the opinion of almost all Russian market operators,” Petrichenko added. Director General of the Institute for Agricultural Market Studies (IKAR) Dmitry Rylko noted that his estimate of the gross grain harvest in 2023 is 126 million tons, including 87 million tons of wheat.

In early December, Deputy Minister of Agriculture Andrey Razin said that the Ministry of Agriculture does not expect a decrease in sown area next year. According to him, it is possible that there will be a slight increase in crops compared to the level of the current year, but it will not be significant. Patrushev previously reported that crops for the 2023 harvest could increase by 200 thousand hectares compared to the current year and exceed 82 million hectares.