Russia's early potatoes find no market

In southern regions of Russia, the harvest of early potatoes has begun, as reported by the national potato association. A significant increase in quantities is expected from some areas in around 10 days. Reports indicate that the price of early potatoes is falling well below farmers' expectations. The cultivation of early potatoes is relatively expensive due to the high labor-intensive nature, especially considering that wages have increased two to three times compared to the previous year, due to a labor shortage. Foreign imported goods were ordered and paid for early. So far, the harvested early potatoes have not made it to the shelves of retail chains. Retailers had already ordered significant amounts of potatoes from abroad last year, based on information about the potato shortage in Russia from the 2024 harvest, and made advance payments. Therefore, it is currently unprofitable for retail chains to organize the purchase of local potatoes to avoid competition with imported potatoes, which have already been paid for and are partly stored in warehouses, as observed by on-site experts. Are many potato growers giving up now? Since early potato producers this year have no way to sell their products locally at a reasonable price, they have to sell them for €55.00 to €66.00 per ton. There is a risk that potato farmers who have put a lot of effort into early potato cultivation will give up their production in the next season and turn to other crops. According to the Potato Association, imports in this season have already exceeded 0.5 million tons. China ranks second after Egypt, supplying the far eastern market and some regions in Siberia. Traditionally, the largest quantities of potatoes from China were imported in June and July. Accordingly, the total import volume could reach the record of the drought season 2010/11, when almost 1.5 million tons of potatoes were imported by Russians, according to some opinions. Russia plans to expand its cultivation area. Referring to the Ministry of Agriculture's press service, Izvestia reported that an expansion of the professional cultivation area by more than 10,000 hectares to 290,000 hectares is planned to increase potato production this year. According to the ministry, potato cultivation in most regions is above the previous year's level. As of June 2, planting was done on an area of 237,200 hectares (82% of the forecast), which is 19,000 hectares more than last year. With favorable weather conditions, the commercial sector is expected to reach 7.5 million tons of harvest, compared to 7.3 million tons in 2024. Additionally, the usual large quantity from private gardens, mainly in rural regions, will cover the demand. Where will the seed potatoes come from? Farmers are facing a problem with seed potato procurement this year. The provision of the necessary documentation for the delivery of seed potatoes from Germany to Russia is still being clarified with the competent authority Rosselkhoznadzor. However, serious doubts exist about solving the problem. According to the association, potato farmers were able to buy around 290 tons of high-quality seed potatoes from Germany in 2024, but this season, it is highly unlikely that a single ton will be imported. The shortage of high-quality starting material, especially for varieties for the industrial processing of French fries and chips, leads to a significant increase in the price of high-quality seed potatoes. The demand for them is described as feverish, especially considering the emergence of new factories for potato processing.