It is planned that this year it will take place in the beginning of May, or even in the middle, at best.
Farmers, like all market participants, are worried about the yield, which directly affects the price of sugar.
As of April 15, only 117.2 thousand hectares of sugar beets were sown in Russia. This is no more than 11% of the total area provided for this crop.
The main reason for the delay is the late spring in the south. Because of it, the sowing may move immediately by 3 weeks compared to the norm.
As the leading expert of the Institute for Agrarian Market Conjuncture Yevgeny Ivanov noted, this year the sowing season will eventually be very late and very short.
Therefore, it is important to approach it fully armed, having the necessary resources.
According to the agrarians, no problems are foreseen: seeds, fertilizers, plant protection products have been purchased in full.
Therefore, it is hoped that the harvest will be higher than last year.
And this is extremely important for the market, since it allows counting on a decrease (or at least no growth) in the price of sugar.
Will a bumper crop drive down prices?
At the same time, Vladimir Gusev, the owner of the Delos agricultural holding, believes that for any harvest, the cost of sugar beet production will increase by at least 30%.
For example, ammophos required for cultivation has risen in price from 31 thousand rubles per ton to 48 thousand in a year.
The same dynamics is demonstrated by other resources needed by farmers: plant protection products, imported equipment.
There is also positive news: for example, in the Krasnodar Territory this year it is planned to sow 10% more sugar beets than in the previous year.
In the Kuban, the agrarians are going to finish sowing by May 1.
Taking into account the fact that the Krasnodar Territory is one of the main agricultural regions of the country, this can give a good «addition» to the beet harvest and prevent an increase in prices for it.
But what the final sugar beet harvest will be will remain an intrigue until the fall.
If there is a crop failure, like in 2020, then the optimization of sugar prices will be a big question.
