Our interviewee is Petr Svetlichny, chairman of the Kuban Association of Grain Processors and Elevators.
Q.: In your opinion, how will this year’s record grain yield affect the region’s economy?
A.: Indeed, we got a unique yield of all agricultural crops this year. It was achieved first of all thankful to the introduction of domestically selected high-yielding varieties and advanced technologies and farming agriculture.
Now the problem is how to turn this high yield into money. For the time being, we are hardly succeeding at that – it’s because Russia is not a main player at the global market and therefore it is not Russia that fixes the price.
That is why I doubt that the yield we got would be able to cardinally affect our economy. We are able to gather high harvests but still cannot dispose of them to our maximum benefit…
Q. Can introduction of wheat deep processing technology possibly help improve the situation?
A.: Of course it can. Deep processing means extraction and use of all grain components to get diverse products. It may seem that growing production volumes must stimulate the use of such modern technologies, but regretfully that’s not the case.
In Kuban, only flour and bran is made from the grain – but in many countries, like Germany, wheat gives several dozens of different products used in food industry, perfumery, medicine, etc.
Q.: Every year, the agricultural producers are frustrated with the low purchase prices for grain, or with the interventions offered by state. This year is not an exception – the farmers are again feeling exasperated – both at prices and volumes. Why so?
A.: The volumes of interventions are so insignificant that they cannot affect domestic or global prices. It is quite natural that the farmers are dissatisfied with the state of affairs – for they have to pay back the investment they have been putting in their harvest.
In the meantime, the shelf life for grain is short, maximum three months – then it gets sick. As far as it is not paying to take it to a grain elevator, export remains the only way-out that is left for the farmers.
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