According to the latest data, in January, the export of sugar beet pulp increased by 1.6 times and amounted to 222 thousand tons.
The largest volume of sugar beet pulp is purchased from Russia by 3 countries: Morocco, Latvia and China.
The first accounts for about 33%, the second — 23%, the third — 17%.
At the same time, there are questions about the supplies going to Latvia: most likely, this country is used only as a transshipment point for the pulp, and where it goes next is unknown.
But there are serious doubts that the final destination is the EU countries, because it has completely banned the import of simple Russian pulp, and imposed quite serious duties on molasses.
It is interesting that the pulp is transported to a number of countries, for example, China, practically for free: a large number of trains filled with containers with various goods are currently going from China to the Russian Federation.
Previously, these trains went back empty, but now, in order to increase the efficiency of transportation, a subsidized railway tariff has been introduced: containers are filled with various types of products, including pulp.
In general, regarding sugar beet pulp, it can be said that its domestic production has been steadily growing over the past 25 years.
For example, this year it may amount to 1.75 million tons. This is a small decline compared to last year’s level — 1.96 million tons, but it is still a very good result.
However, Russia’s own consumption of pulp is practically non-existent, which creates a powerful export potential, which has led to the fact that the Russian Federation has become one of the leaders in pulp supplies to the world market.
It is noted, however, that pulp is an excessively cheap commodity, so increasing its exports is unlikely to be advisable from the point of view of making a profit.
In addition, there are a number of problems with its logistics, since the pulp is not stored in elevators, absorbs water, and the granules can crumble. All this makes it not a very convenient export product.
At the same time, according to a number of experts, Russia has huge potential for increasing the production of pulp, but for various reasons it has not been revealed at the moment.
In particular, the pulp can be used as feed for ruminants, pigs and dogs.
Many experts expect that in the coming years, livestock farms will nevertheless begin to use pulp more actively, and then the situation with it can change radically.
The development of export logistics can become another important task, the solution of which will allow pulp producers to resolve issues with its sales.
