According to available information, the volume of import of this type of product to the territory of the Russian Federation has more than tripled in the current season.
Currently, Russia is experiencing a large influx of imported potatoes. If in the previous season the volume of its import from abroad did not exceed 250 thousand tons, then this season it amounted to 850 thousand tons.
Experts attribute this dynamics to the fact that last December the Russian government zeroed the import duty on potatoes imported within the quota of 300 thousand tons, and in May the quota was increased by another 150 thousand tons.
As a result, imported potatoes began to actively enter the Russian market and compete with the harvest of the new season.
This led to the fact that Russian products, which were already sold below cost, began to become even cheaper. Thus, the influx of potatoes from abroad negatively affected the profitability of Russian producers, experts note.
In addition, export restrictions became a problem for farmers: the government set a limit on sending new potato crops to Belarus, Kazakhstan and other countries.
Thus, producers also had virtually no opportunity to profit from exports; they had to sell their potatoes on the domestic market.
At the same time, potato harvesting has already begun. Analysts assume that up to 7.5 million tons of this crop will be harvested this year.
This is a very good indicator, because the absolute record set in 2023 was 8.6 million tons. Experts have no doubt that such a harvest will be quite sufficient to cover the needs of the domestic market.
At the same time, there are concerns that precipitation and the resulting waterlogging of the soil may negatively affect the harvest volume in some regions.
For example, this applies to the Northwestern Federal District.
However, some analysts believe that if the harvest turns out to be less than expected, this will even be positive for producers, since it will contribute to price increases.
Currently, the cost of potatoes is at a level that at best is equal to the cost price, and at worst, even falls even lower.
Over the past 7 months, potatoes have fallen in price by 11%.
If this trend continues, and the current restrictions on potato exports are not lifted by the government in the near future, then producers may begin to move away from this crop, as it does not bring in income, which creates the risk of a drop in production next season.
