Durum wheat varieties in russia where they grow the most

Wheat is a popular cereal crop that is grown in many countries of the world with favorable climatic conditions. Russia is no exception. Cereal grains are used for grinding into flour, after which it is used to prepare various products (baked goods, pasta, etc.). There are more than 300,000 varieties of wheat, and every year their number only increases. Breeders are developing new forms that are highly resistant to various diseases and have significant yields. What is the average yield, where is grain production in Russia widespread and what varieties are common, you should understand in more detail.

Main growing regions

Grain production in Russia is possible in almost all regions. The main advantage of any type of cereal is its picky to weather conditions. The main cultivation areas are the Stavropol and Krasnodar Territories. In these territories, grain harvest reaches almost a quarter of the total state harvest and has a higher yield.

Good yields are also observed in other areas:

• Volgograd.
• Saratov.
• Omsk.
• Kursk.
• Voronezh.
• Altai Territory.

Each of the regions provides 3-5% of the total amount collected throughout the country. A significant wheat harvest in Russia can be traced in the Belgorod and Penza regions. Here, wheat production in Russia is at a high level, while some northern regions are completely unsuitable for growing such crops.

Modern crops

Russia is a northern country with a cool climate for growing grain crops. But even with these difficulties, you can find ways to optimize production.

Grain plays an important role in the economy of the Russian Federation. The state is distinguished by higher yields than most tropical countries, therefore it exports the product in large volumes.

Since the 2000s, wheat production per hectare has increased sharply. The authorities decided to sow almost half of all sown area allocated for grain. In 2006, more than 60% of all cereal fields were already filled with this crop.

In post-war times, NS Khrushchev decided to make corn the second bread in the country. In the 1950s and 1960s, corn was planted en masse, but throughout the Khrushchev government, wheat held the leading position.

Almost 70 years have passed and the current Russian government says that Khrushchev's strategy was successful. The yield of corn is much higher - it is less nutritious and healthy product. It can be actively used as feed for domestic animals, which could contribute to the development of agriculture and animal husbandry.

In 2016, the scale of wheat planted areas in Russia was 27704 thousand hectares, and this is almost 59% of all fields allocated for grain crops.

How many centners per hectare are harvested of wheat: it is almost impossible to answer unequivocally. It depends on soil, climatic conditions and other factors.

Varieties of culture

Wheat varieties are grown on the territory of Russia:

• spring;
• winter;
• soft varieties;
• hard varieties;
• dwarf, etc.

Hard varieties are not grown very actively. Such varieties do not show high yields. The grown durum wheat is more often used to make good pasta.The ear of such a culture is distinguished by its dense structure and long awns. Large volumes of durum wheat from warmer countries are annually imported to Russia, as it is in demand among consumers and is of high quality.

Soft varieties are much more common - the grain is used for baking bread. Flour is great for making confectionery. There are no bones here at all. The seed has a rounded shape.

Dwarf varieties are rarely grown, but most confectioners claim that this flour is best for baking cakes, pastries, cookies, etc.

The technological map of the cultivation of spring crops suggests that it is better to plant it in the spring and harvest it in the fall.

Where to grow spring wheat on the territory of the Russian Federation: this is the most picky variety that takes root in almost all regions of Russia.

The main thing is to follow some spring wheat cultivation procedures in order to get a good harvest, the table of requirements of which is known to everyone who is engaged in crop cultivation.

Winter wheat is sown in late autumn or winter. The advantage lies in the fact that in the spring it receives useful substances along with melt water. Thanks to early sprouting, the crop is less weedy. This is demonstrated by the record grain harvest.

Grain collection in the USSR by years

The volume of wheat cultivated in the USSR was categorically lacking, so imports flourished. Exports also accounted for 8% in the 60s, and later - only 0.5%. Imports, on the other hand, grew literally every day and, as a result, exceeded 20%. The yield by republic is presented in the table below.

Year	Production, tons
1961	62 494 000
1965	56 105 008
1970	93 750 000
1975	62 250 000
1980	92 500 000
1985	73 200 000
1990	101 888 496
1991	71 991 008

There is an opinion that in the USSR they grew grains of 3-5 classes, and bought high-quality wheat of 1-2 classes. There is no confirmation of this, but since the 70s, the USSR began to buy wheat several times less than to export - this trend continues to this day.

Production in Russia by years

Based on statistical compilations of the Federal State Statistics Service, it is easy to analyze the dynamics of wheat production from 1 ha / ton in Russia over the years:

• 1992 — 46,2;
• 2000 — 34,5;
• 2005 — 47,5;
• 2008 — 67,8;
• 2009 — 61,7;
• 2010 — 41,5;
• 2011 — 56,2;
• 2015 — 56,7;
• 2017 — 57,2.

The base growth rate is 112.8%. Today wheat production has increased by 12.8%. The main reason why such changes have taken place is that the structure of demand in the domestic and foreign markets has changed, and also the selling prices are strikingly different.

Productivity by region

Wheat production as of 2017 allows us to consider the development trend by region. The main producing region is the Rostov region - 9,031.3 thousand tons. The share in the total fees is 11.9%. The Krasnodar Territory is also not inferior - collections here amount to 8,957,000 tons. The third place went to the Stavropol Territory - 7 713 thousand tons. The Volgograd region collects 3 353.4 000 tons with 4.4% of the total collection for the year. Altai Territory - 2,977.8. Saratov region at the level of 2 795.1 thousand tons. Omsk takes the honorable seventh place in grain production and produces 2,568.4 thousand tons. Voronezh and Kursk regions in the range of 2299.7-2493.4 thousand tons. The Republic of Tatarstan ranks 10th in the rating of regions with collections of 2,142.6 thousand tons.

The top 20 in terms of gross receipts includes the following regions:

• Orenburg region - 2073.8.
• Orlovskaya - 1883.5.
• Tambov - 1877.0.
• Lipetsk - 1791.3.
• Krasnodar Territory - 1745.0.
• Novosibirsk region - 1631.6.
• Bashkortostan - 1576.1.
• Kurgan region - 1565.9.
• Penza region - 1392.6.
• Belgorodskaya - 1381.6.

All other regions not included in the top 20 produced 14,547.2 thousand tons of wheat.

Russia is a large grain trader that supplies many countries of the world with the most essential varieties for baking bakery products. Even despite the large harvest, the Russian Federation imports durum wheat for the manufacture of high-quality pasta.

In some areas, climatic conditions do not correspond to normal indicators for the growth and development of wheat and other grain crops, therefore, genetically modified products are often used in such areas. This does not mean that only Russia produces such crops. Most of the world leaders in grain production also use this practice. Now you know where wheat grows, which varieties are most common, and what they are used for.

According to Andrey Sizov, general director of the SovEkon analytical center, about 500 thousand tons of durum wheat (durum) varieties are grown annually in Russia. The Union of Millers told Agrobusiness that the annual production of pasta flour is about 300 thousand tons. This requires a little more than 400 thousand tons of durum wheat, and since it is mainly used for pasta, it can be assumed that this figure reflects the total durum wheat production in Russia. And the top manager of the Moscow mill # 3 (one of the few enterprises that processes durum wheat in large volumes) gives a figure of 200 thousand tons. The source says that his calculations are based on an estimate of the capacity of Russian mills working with durum wheat.

Sizov reminds that any statistics are estimated: a separate record of the durum wheat crop is not kept at the moment. As a result, “the market is guided by rough numbers and guesses,” he laments. And such an accounting would be useful: durum wheat differs from soft wheat in its properties and spheres of application in the same way as malting barley differs from feed barley. Difficulties in calculations also arise because many agricultural producers call "hard" soft durum wheat with a high, more than 65%, glassiness, explains Sizov. It yields higher yields than the real solid, and many believe that it is therefore more profitable to grow it.

99% of durum wheat is used for the production of pasta, says a representative of the Moscow flour mill No. 3.

Other areas of its application: semolina, boning of semi-finished meat products, dumplings, waffle cups, pizza, make up only 1%.

According to the Union of Millers, more than 950 thousand tons of pasta are produced in Russia annually.

Of these, only 10% is made from pasta flour made from durum wheat. Macaroni from such

flour is considered to be of higher quality, says the president of the union Arkady Gurevich: they do not boil over, contain more useful trace elements and do not contribute to fullness.

Nevertheless, due to its high cost, the demand for durum wheat flour is still low: durum wheat is 20.25% more expensive than soft wheat, Gurevich compares. As a result, the production of durum wheat is not growing, and the capacity of pasta mills is only 40% loaded. The largest of them are the Moscow flour mill No. 3, the Nevskie Mills in St. Petersburg, and the factories in Chelyabinsk, Samara and Saratov.

Millers complain about the high cost of raw materials. But agricultural producers, on the contrary, consider purchasing prices for durum wheat too low and hardly differing from prices for soft wheat. The Agroskhleboprodukt company started growing durum two years ago. The seeds were purchased at the Budennovskaya Experimental Breeding Station in the Stavropol Territory. the region where the company's farms are located. Now "Agroskhleboprodukt" plans to abandon solid varieties. "The costs of growing them are higher, seeds are more expensive, and hard wheat is sold at only a small premium compared to soft wheat",. the general director of the company Vladimir Zalogin shares his disappointing conclusions. The UTS-agroproduct company (the agricultural division of Yugtranzitservice, the largest grain exporter) has a similar experience. After a small experiment on growing durum wheat in the Rostov region on 400 hectares, they decided to abandon this direction: a new winter variety bred in Zernograd turned out to be not resistant to frost and low-yielding.

This is not surprising, says Alexander Zubov, general director of the Niva Orenburzhya trading company: projects for growing durum wheat in southern Russia are not very promising. The peasants in the Rostov region and in the Stavropol region are accustomed to harvests of 40.50 c / ha, and if they get 15 c / ha of durum wheat, they will not be satisfied with such a result.Hard varieties, as a rule, are spring ones, which means that their yield is 20.25% lower than that of winter crops, explains Alexander Kruglikov, deputy director of Baisad (produces pasta of the same name from durum wheat).

According to Zubov, it is advisable to grow such wheat in the east of the Orenburg region, in the Saratov region and northern Kazakhstan. Gurevich from the Union of Millers adds Altai and the Chelyabinsk region to this list, but clarifies that due to its high quality, durum wheat from the Orenburg region is most in demand. The climate for this type of wheat should be sharply continental, says Kruglikov.

His company buys grain primarily at the Novoorsk elevator in the Orenburg region (owned by the Agrokominvest trading company), as well as in the Samara and Saratov regions. Zubov from Niva Orenburg in 2005 supplied 25 thousand tons of durum wheat, of which about 8.4 thousand tons were grown on their own farms in the Orenburg region, united in the Kolos-3 company.

He believes that if you grow durum in a favorable climatic zone and follow agricultural technologies, you can achieve a profitability of 30%. The cost of 1 ton of durum wheat in the Kolos-3 farms is 3.2.3.5 thousand rubles. This is somewhat more expensive than the production of 1 ton of common soft wheat. And purchase prices for durum wheat are usually 20% higher.

"Baysad", which processes 10.12 thousand tons of durum wheat per year, buys it at 5.8 thousand rubles / ton, including delivery. These are the prices for wheat of the 3rd class with gluten not less than 26.27%. Less quality durum wheat, according to Kruglikov, costs about 5.2 thousand rubles / ton, but "in any case, more than 5 thousand rubles / ton," soft 3 class. 4.2.4.5 thousand rubles / t. Usually, durum wheat is 1.1.1.2 thousand rubles per ton more expensive than soft wheat, Kruglikov estimates.

Durum wheat is in demand, and you can make good money on it if you know the intricacies of this market, says Zubov from Niva Orenburg. However, to argue that durum wheat is more profitable than soft wheat because it costs more,. a simplistic approach, he warns. If this were the case, everyone would be engaged in durum wheat, which in reality does not happen. For example, in the Kolos-3 farms, only 30% of the arable land is occupied by durum wheat, or 5.6 thousand hectares. This ratio is necessary to maintain the correct crop rotation. Durum wheat can only be sown in pairs, otherwise the grain will turn out to be of poor quality, says Zubov. This increases the production cost. In a year when the land is resting, it is necessary to ensure the conservation of moisture by clearing the land of weeds either mechanically or with the help of herbicides.

Of all the hard varieties in the Kolos-3 farms, Bezenchuksky Amber has recommended itself best of all: it fits the given climatic zone and is less susceptible to disease, says Zubov. They also sow "Kharkovskaya-3" and "Orenburgskaya-10". Kruglikov from Baisad says that when buying grain, he pays attention not only to the class, but also to the wheat variety, since each variety requires a "special approach."

He considers the most successful "Bezenchukskaya-139", "Orenburgskaya-2", "Orenburgskaya-10", "Svetlana", "Kharkovskaya-3" and "Almaz". The best flour in Baisad is obtained from Saratovskaya Zolotistaya, but Kruglikov knows that this variety is unstable: it gives a good harvest one year, and the next. low, the grain loses quality.

In Russia, there is now a big problem with durum wheat, admits the general director of the Altan macaroni company Valery Pokornyak. “Wheat is degenerating, its quality is decreasing, and no one is seriously engaged in breeding, because it is a long (5-6 years) and risky business”,. he states. According to Pokornyak, it takes from $ 100 to $ 700 thousand to develop a new wheat variety.

Durum wheat is more difficult not only to grow but also to process. If from ordinary wheat the flour yield is 77.78%, then from durum. only 72.73%, says Kruglikov of Baisad.

Accordingly, such flour is more expensive:

7.5 thousand rubles / ton versus 6.5 thousand rubles / ton of ordinary soft flour. When working with solid flour, equipment wears out faster. If soft flour must be soaked and allowed to rest for 6.8 hours before grinding, then it is hard. 16.24 hours. The moisture content of the grain should be from 16.5 to 16.8%, and it is important to “catch” this small gap, says Kruglikov. If the humidity is higher, it will be difficult to grind the grain, but lower. the flour will turn out to be gray.

In "Baisad" they bought a new Turkish mill for ordinary flour for $ 1 million and converted it into a pasta mill, covering the rolls with wear-resistant material and choosing the necessary cut of the rolls. Makfa also has its own pasta mills in Chelyabinsk, which, according to market participants, is the largest consumer of durum wheat in Russia.

Factories that do not have their own mills buy ready-made pasta flour from mills. Five years ago, they bought a pasta mill of the Italian firm "Golfetto" at Moscow flour mill No. 3. Now it processes 45.50 thousand tons of durum wheat annually. The largest suppliers of the plant. Niva Orenburzhya, Agrokominvest, Orsk Grain Company and Rosmuk.

The durum wheat market has its own large operators, and these are far from the same companies that are considered leaders in the Russian grain market, says Sizov from SovEkon. He, like market participants, calls MacFoo the largest buyer, and one of the largest exporters. the company "Exportkhleb". Zubov from Niva Orenburg called Agrokominvest and his company major traders of durum wheat.

Prices for durum wheat are less subject to market fluctuations than soft wheat, Sizov said. “This is a more modest and stable market, where there are several buyers with established needs. In addition, there is no surplus of production here, as with ordinary wheat, which can arise in a harvest year: the possibilities of growing durum are limited to several regions ”,. he says.

Most of the market participants and experts agreed that the demand for durum wheat in Russia will grow. “Living standards are rising, and Russians are consuming more and more high-quality durum pasta. Pasta and pizza are becoming popular, ”explains Sizov. “It happens that we experience difficulties in purchasing grain. Our production volumes are increasing every year ”,. confirms Kruglikov from Baisad.

In his opinion, large pasta companies are already forced to "travel to the regions and look for farms from which they will buy durum wheat." At Moscow Milling Plant No. 3, they also admit that they feel a shortage of raw materials, especially by the end of the year.

Due to the growing demand for durum wheat, several companies have announced large-scale projects for its cultivation. The owner of Aston, Vadim Vikulov, said in March that he was exploring the raw material base for the production of durum wheat in the Rostov region. "Now on the Russian market there are no opportunities for the production of really high quality pasta",. he is sure. Vikulov, most likely, will deal with this project together with "a very strong profile partner", whom he refuses to name.

And in 2005 the Italian company Produttori Sementi announced that it plans to grow durum wheat in the Rostov region with its subsequent shipment to Italy through the Taganrog port. It was about 100 thousand tons of grain per year with a subsequent increase in production to 500 thousand tons (this is how much durum wheat is now produced in Russia). In 2004, when Produttori Sementi was going to develop a similar project in the Voronezh region, experts assumed that in this way the world pasta giant Barilla was preparing to enter the Russian market. Produttori Sementi has been cooperating with him for 15 years.

Sizov from SovEkon is skeptical about such initiatives.In his opinion, in the south of Russia there are not enough hot sunny days, as in the Mediterranean countries. Sizov also calls the Voronezh project “unlikely”. He also disapproves of the idea of ​​a winter durum wheat variety: “Canada. the largest exporter of durum and a "trendsetter" in this market, but for some reason no one there thought of bringing out a winter variety ",. Sizov sneers.

He believes that durum wheat should be grown in regions with a continental climate. However, the export of durum wheat from Russia. A promising direction, Sizov admits: "In the EU countries there are no quotas for the import of high-quality durum wheat, and many competent Russian exporters are already successfully operating in this market."

Kurochkin of UTS-Agroproduct says that representatives of a trading company recently negotiated with him about growing durum wheat and planned to export it. He agrees on the condition that he is provided with seeds and a guaranteed purchase price. Kurochkin clarifies that growing durum wheat is beneficial for him if the price difference with soft wheat is more than 20%. However, until the contract is signed, he treats these conversations "as well as the ideas of growing large volumes of rapeseed in Russia."

Wheat is the most common cereal crop, and it is also quite ancient. There is no exact information about its origin, but it is assumed that it has been known to mankind for more than ten thousand years, remaining for humans one of the main sources of vegetable protein. Over the centuries, this culture has changed, the most valuable plant forms were selected, artificially crossed, and new varieties and forms appeared as a result. Now there are already up to 30,000 samples in different countries.

Flour made from it is excellent bread, various confectionery flour products (cookies, gingerbread, waffles, cakes), cereals (semolina, Poltava). It is a valuable export commodity for many countries.

Therefore, huge areas are allotted for the cultivation of wheat in Russia. Among other cultures, it has the most honorable place both in the commercial sphere and in the food industry. Only it is not always possible to get the desired harvests when cultivating this crop, it is so demanding on soils and climate.

Wheat cultivation and global demand

This grain is an integral part of the food supply of any country. The demand for grain is growing steadily all over the world.

For many decades, wheat has maintained a leading position in the global agricultural market. Its production is growing every year.

Rice. 1. Dynamics of changes in grain production in the world, million tons

Exactly the same growth is observed in the consumption of this culture.

Rice. 2. Dynamics of changes in grain consumption in the world, million tons

The growing demand can only be met by increasing the cultivated area or increasing productivity in existing areas. The world grain market is recognized as one of the most dynamically growing, and wheat is the most demanded and actively traded among them.

Its production is organized on an industrial scale in more than a hundred countries. And Russia, at the end of 2016, is second only to the EU, China and India, leaving behind the States, Canada, Australia and other major manufacturers. But the export of Russian wheat in terms of volume is the first in the world.

If you believe the forecasts of the US Department of Agriculture, Russia will retain the world leadership in 2017/2018, already accounting for about 17% of world exports.

“We simply cannot compete with Russia on price issues in these markets - the drought and late snowstorms affected the yield of American wheat this year. Russia, on the other hand, grew it under favorable weather conditions. Over the past five years, yields have grown by 70%.
US wheat will account for 15% of global exports this year, according to the USDA.... according to the forecasts of the department, this season American farms will produce twice less wheat than Russian ones ”. (representative of the association Steve Merzer).

Wheat in Russia

Russia is a northern country, but its agriculture has always grown, collected and processed wheat and rye. These cereals are the main food product and the most important commodity in the world grain market. Of these, the most common and most valuable is wheat. Both in the country's crop production and in the agricultural economy of the Russian Federation, it plays a dominant role.

Crops

Since 2000, more than half of all sown areas allotted for grain have been sown with it, and in 2010 this figure reached 61.6%.

Rice. 3. The share of wheat in the sown area of ​​grain crops, in%

There was 1955 in the history of the RSFSR, when, by order of NS Khrushchev, corn was destined to become the second bread, and the fields were massively sown with this cereal crop. But the wheat "held on", did not give up its positions. And now, 60 years after the start of the "corn campaign", the Russian government recommends that farmers pay attention to this crop, arguing that the cultivation of corn is more productive, healthier and, importantly, has a positive effect on the productivity of animal husbandry, and meat, and dairy.

The size of the sown area in the Russian Federation in 2016 amounted to 27704 thousand hectares, which is 58.8% of the total area sown with grain.

	43 194	26 613
	43 572	25 552
	44 439	24 684
	45 826	25 064
	46 220	25 277
	46 642	26 833
	47 110	27 704

Wheat is grown in the Russian Federation:

• spring

  sown in spring;

• winter

  sown in late autumn or winter. Its advantage is that in spring soil moisture and heat are better used, as well as a period long enough for the grain to fill up. Thanks to the early sprouting, it is less weedy. All this makes it possible to obtain higher yields of winter crops than those of spring crops.

Rice. 4. Change in the structure of wheat sown areas, in%

In recent years, more and more of this grain crop has been harvested in Russia, and the yield is growing. At the end of 2016, the gross harvest was recorded in the amount of 73.3 million tons, and the yield was 26.6 centners per hectare.

	41 508
	56 240
	37 720
	52 091
	59 711
	61 786
	73 295

According to operational data, 85,819 million tons of wheat were harvested in 2017 (Rosstat).

In terms of yield, winter wheat exceeded spring wheat more than twice since 2010, and by the end of 2016 by 2.4 times (15.7 and 37.6 centners per hectare, respectively).

Rice. 5. Dynamics of productivity of winter and spring wheat varieties, centners per hectare

Grain regions of Russia

Until the middle of the 20th century, wheat was sown mainly in the Black Earth zone. With the breeding of new, more winter-hardy and early maturing varieties, its crops move north, to areas where they were not cultivated.

Today the Russian Federation has the best soils for wheat - black soil, fertile virgin and fallow lands. And all the grain that is grown and harvested in Russia is classified by botanical type - hard / soft.

Wheat of different varieties and types, according to its characteristics, requires special growing conditions, and therefore is produced in various regions of Russia:

• Mild - the climate prefers a more humid one, it is grown mainly in the Central Black Earth Region, in the western regions of Siberia, and in certain regions of the North Caucasus. Both spring and winter wheat "love" these lands.
• Hard varieties are more demanding to climatic conditions. Their best harvests are obtained in the Altai Territory, Orenburg, Saratov, Chelyabinsk regions.

Every third ton of wheat is grown in one of three constituent entities in the South of Russia: Rostov Region (the absolute leader - 12.6% of gross harvest in 2016), Krasnodar (11.6) and Stavropol Territories. It collected 25,127 thousand tons.

If you rank the regions for the collection and yield of this cereal, you get the following:

Rostov region	8 997,5
Krasnodar region	8 502,4
Stavropol region	7 627,4
Volgograd region	3 326,0
Altai region	2 844,1
Saratov region	2 732,0
Voronezh region	2 429,8
Omsk region	2 402,3
Kursk region	2 218,1
Republic of Tatarstan	2 036,8
Orenburg region	2 008,0
Oryol Region	1 858,8
Tambov Region	1 836,6
Lipetsk region	1 693,1
Krasnoyarsk region	1 571,4
Republic of Bashkortostan	1 570,3
Novosibirsk region	1 549,0

Krasnodar region
Republic of Adygea
Belgorod region
Stavropol region
Kursk region
Lipetsk region
Karachay-Cherkessia
Rostov region
Oryol Region
Voronezh region
Bryansk region
Tambov Region
Kabardino-Balkaria
Ryazan Oblast
Tula region
Pskov region
Kaliningrad region

Wheat as an export commodity

“Russia was able to become the world's top wheat exporter through investment and a weakened ruble” (WSJ).

An excursion into history

At the end of the 19th century, Russia became the leader in the European food market. Almost half of the profits from foreign trade came from grain sales. By the beginning of the 20th century, the country had already become an absolute leader. In the world grain production, its share was:

• rye - over 50% of production;
• wheat - 20%;
• barley - 33%;
• oats - 25%.

During the period of collectivization (1929-1930), there was a sharp decline in the production of all agricultural products (this affected, first of all, bread), which is fully explained by excesses in the implementation of communist ideas, increased chaos.

Since the 1930s, the country has tried with all its might to regain the lost positions of Europe's main exporter. Moreover, it was necessary to replenish the country's foreign exchange reserves. The industrialization of a country could be threatened if it was impossible to purchase equipment and technology abroad.

And even the drought of 1931 did not stop the supply of grain abroad. This situation persisted until the Second World War.

The war years were already behind us, but until the very end of the 1950s, the best grain was exported. The restoration of the national economic complex, the rise of industry had to be ensured. And this despite the fact that their citizens bought bread strictly on the basis of ration cards.

At the turn of the 50s and 60s, finally, meeting the needs of the population forced to switch from export to import of wheat.

There was even a period when its export stopped altogether. It was 1990-1993.

Rice. 6. Dynamics of export and import of wheat and meslin, thousand tons

For reference: accounting for exports and imports of wheat in statistics is carried out on commodity item 1001 "wheat and meslin" of the "Commodity nomenclature of foreign economic activity" (TN VED).

Meslin is a mixture of wheat and rye, usually in a two to one ratio.

A qualitative leap was noted in the 2002 harvest year. For the first time in decades, more than 10.5 million tons of grain were sent abroad. Russia entered the top ten wheat exporting countries. And already the new XXI century was marked by a steady growth in wheat exports and the strengthening of the leadership of the Russian Federation in the world grain market.

The share of Russian imports of wheat in the world in 2016-2017 was 15.3%, the forecast for 2017-2018 is 18.1%. (T. Kovtun, Deputy Director of the Novorossiysk branch of the FSBI "Center for Grain Quality Assessment" at the Forum "Grain of Russia - 2018").

According to the forecasts of the FAO, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the first place in 2017/2018 for the Russian Federation, "which will increase the annual supply of this crop to foreign markets to 32.2 million tons of wheat and wheat flour (in terms of grain)." The second position will be retained by the EU countries, and the United States, having lost its leadership to Russia, will occupy the third line.

	13 864	11 848
	18 306	15 198
	22 476	16 069
	19 035	13 796
	29 986	22 082
	30 700	21 230
	33 891	25 328

Wheat accounts for 1.5% of the total export volume of the Russian Federation.

	392 674
	516 718
	524 735
	525 976
	497 359
	341 419
	281 850

Experts note that the quality of Russian wheat is higher than that of French and Ukrainian wheat. And they consider the export forecast to be realistic - up to 44 million tons.

Rosstat published data on the export-import of wheat for January-November 2017. According to operational data, exports amounted to 28,763 thousand tons, and imports - 247 thousand tons.

Average prices for wheat in the domestic and foreign markets

It is known that the following factors influence the price of grain:

• production in the current year, carryover stocks of the harvest of the previous year;
• changing demand in the domestic market;
• external markets (world production, stocks, demand, etc.);
• exchange rates - national, as well as countries with which international trade is carried out.

Seasonality is also reflected in prices - they are lower during the harvesting period, and by the spring, when grain stocks are reduced, they are highest.

In the period from 2010 to 2016, the average prices of agricultural producers for wheat in Russia increased by 2.2 times, from 2,867 rubles per ton in 2010 to 8,837 in 2016. Russian enterprises purchased it already for 7,488 rubles in 2010 and 10,074 in 2016, so the purchase price increased by 34%.

According to operational data, the average producer price for 2017 was 7304 rubles.

	7 488	3 867
	5 528	5 108
	10 172	6 409
	7 822	6 715
	10 347	6 849
	10 577	8 768
	10 074	8 837

As for the world prices for this cereal, they are gradually decreasing. A similar trend is observed with the actual export prices for Russian wheat.

Russia is a country that has been a leading producer and exporter of oil on the world market for many years; it is gaining more and more influence on the market of another, no less important commodity, like wheat. Its production is increasing from year to year. The decline in oil prices weakened the ruble, but grain production became more attractive for foreign buyers, which allowed Russia to become a leader in the wheat export market and squeeze such a large supplier as the United States from it. This is especially important for the Russian Federation, since the country seeks to reduce its own dependence on imports, including agricultural imports, after the imposed sanctions and bans.

The fact that Russia will retain its leading position in the world grain market is shown in the video:

The sowing of durum wheat in the country does not exceed 500 thousand hectares, which is ten times less than the best Soviet indicators. However, in recent years, interest in agriculture has increased against the background of high purchase prices: durum wheat can be twice as expensive as soft wheat. In addition, agriculture is ideal for the arid territories of the Urals, the Volga region and Altai.

Vitaly Moseev

In the Soviet years, the sowing of durum spring wheat (durum), the production peak of which occurred in the late 1980s - early 1990s, amounted to a maximum of about 5 million hectares. Now in Russia, according to the Institute for Agricultural Market Studies (IKAR), they have decreased tenfold - to 500 thousand hectares. But five or six years ago, the figure was even less - about 400 thousand hectares, draws attention to the leading expert of the IKAR Evgeny Zaitsev. “On average for six years, the annual increase in crops is about 5%,” he calculates. The increase is due to an increase in demand from the pasta industry, adds Alexander Korbut, vice president of the Russian Grain Union.

Potential 1.5 million tons

According to the National Union of Grain Producers, sowing of durum wheat in the country may amount to 180-300 thousand hectares. "Accurate calculations are difficult due to the fact that in modern Russia the collection of statistical information on wheat is carried out according to the classification" food "and" fodder ", and there is no division into soft and hard varieties, - explains the CEO of the organization Vyacheslav Golov. "Durum is grown based on the requests of specific buyers - processing enterprises that manufacture pasta and cereals." To meet their needs, the production of such varieties should be increased from 300-500 thousand tons to 1.5 million tons, the expert thinks. Zaitsev estimates the annual gross yield of durum wheat in Russia at the level of 400-600 thousand tons. The volume mainly depends on the weather and climatic characteristics of the season, he specifies.

Durum is grown in regions with dry climates, high daytime temperatures and few days with rainfall. “The combination of these factors ensures the good quality of the products,” says Golov. Russian production leaders are Orenburg, Chelyabinsk, Saratov, Samara regions, Altai and Stavropol regions. Durum wheat is also cultivated in other regions, but the quality of the grain is generally poorer.

According to Zaitsev, about 60% of the harvest comes from the Volga region, 20% from the Urals, about 10% from Siberia, the same amount from the South and the North Caucasus. The high concentration of crops in the Urals (as an economic region, not a federal district) is explained by natural and climatic features - there is a short, but hot and dry summer, he notes.

Growing durum in the problematic climatic zones of the Volga and the Urals, farmers adapt to the needs of the market, comments Andrey Sizov, general director of the SovEkon analytical center. On the other hand, in such conditions, they provide themselves with a higher profitability in comparison with other major agricultural crops. “The world leader in export supplies of durum wheat is Canada, which accounts for about half of the total volume of world trade, which is 8-9 million tons / year,” the expert knows. - The climatic conditions of this country are in many ways similar to those in Russia. This means that we can afford to continue to expand the production of durum. "

Regional production

In the Orenburg region, up to 80% of all domestic durum wheat is grown. Governor of the region Yuri Berg said this in 2014 in the annual report on the results of the work and priorities of the regional government. According to him, there is now an acute shortage of high-quality grain production in Russia, including durum wheat. “It needs to be dealt with, because under certain conditions it can be highly profitable. Contrary to all the whims of nature, even today the Orenburg Trans-Urals supplies over 80% of durum wheat to the Russian market. If we approach the solution of the problem wisely, then everything will be 100%, ”the governor is sure.

The Orenburg delegation met in Moscow with representatives of the Rosselkhozbank and presented the target program “Development of durum wheat production in the Orenburg region for 2014–2016 and for the period until 2020”. The document provides for a twofold increase in the gross yield of durum wheat. According to the regional Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Processing Industry, in 2015, the crops of durum in the Orenburg region amounted to about 240 thousand hectares. The plan for 2016 is 250 thousand hectares. Thanks to the implementation of the program, by 2020 durum wheat will occupy 400 thousand hectares, its yield will exceed 770 thousand tons.

The second largest producer of durum wheat in the country is the Chelyabinsk region. According to the press service of the regional Ministry of Agriculture, in 2015, 132 thousand hectares were sown with durum, and the harvest reached 176 thousand tons. However, the yield of this agricultural crop is extremely unstable due to frequent droughts in the South Urals (see table). At the same time, the region has become the leading processor of grain of hard grades, noted in September 2015 the governor of the region Boris Dubrovsky at a plenary session of the forum for cooperation between Russia and Kazakhstan. To meet the needs of local processing enterprises, 300,000 tons of durum are required annually, he said.

Altai Territory is also a large producer of durum wheat. According to the data of the main department of agriculture of the region, 40-50 thousand tons of this agricultural crop are grown here annually, crops amount to about 30-40 thousand hectares. At the same time, the vice-governor of the region, Alexander Lukyanov, in an interview with Rossiyskaya Gazeta in 2014, estimated the potential of the harvest at 300 thousand tons, and of crops - at 150-200 thousand hectares. In the future, the Samara and Saratov regions can increase production volumes. In 2015, the first durum occupied about 30 thousand hectares. Local Research Institute of Agriculture. N. M. Tulaykova estimates the optimal sowing of spring durum wheat at 100-120 thousand hectares. In the Saratov region last year, durum was grown on almost 45 thousand hectares, the regional Ministry of Agriculture reported.

Bashkortostan plans to increase agricultural production. The Minister of Agriculture of the republic Nikolai Kovalenko said that in the region durum wheat should account for 30-40% of the total crops, and in the regions of the southern forest-steppe and Ural steppe zone - up to 10%. “We understand that for the Trans-Urals we need our own list of sustainable agricultural crops, we are focusing on hard, more drought-resistant wheat,” Interfax quoted him as saying.

Technology is key

The technology of cultivation of durum wheat is similar to the production of soft varieties, but the former is more demanding in terms of harvest time.Even a weekly overload of durum in excess of the optimal threshing period is fraught with loss of vitreousness, which significantly complicates the subsequent sale of grain. “Due to the decline in quality, pasta manufacturers are losing interest in purchases, while such wheat is not suitable for processing into bakery flour, it is not used for feed purposes because of its high gluten,” says Golov.

The general director of the Novosibirsk company "Siberian bread" Pavel Miklukhin notes that growing hard varieties requires more careful selection of mineral fertilizers and systematic application of them; more sunny days are also required. Yuri Vasyukov, executive director of EkoNiva-Semena, adds that it is more difficult to protect an ear of durum from diseases, primarily from fusarium diseases, although the problem is solved by effective plant protection products. Also, agriculture is more sensitive to its predecessor and is not capable of producing a large harvest when grown on the same plot for more than two years in a row, adds Andrey Avilov, a representative of SibAgroNiva (Altai Territory). “Because of all these factors, the costs of growing hard varieties are 15–20% higher than soft varieties,” he compares. "But these costs are offset by higher purchase prices."

Nevertheless, the Voronezh Agricultural Investment Company wants to abandon the production of durum wheat. “The production costs are slightly higher than soft ones. Buyers appreciate its glassiness, however, if this figure does not exceed 70%, then it will have to be handed over at the prices of ordinary wheat, - says Dmitry Baraban, deputy director of the company. - Unfortunately, we are faced with this. Now we are planning to replace this crop with white flax, mustard and chickpeas. "

Other durum wheat producers surveyed by Agroinvestor are more optimistic. For example, SibAgroNiva has been growing durum for three years. This season, the crops were increased by 30% to 1.5 thousand hectares. “Most of the fields are sown with Omsk corundum,” Avilov clarifies.

EkoNiva has also been producing durum wheat for three years. The company uses part of the crop for its own crops, and sells part of the seeds to other farms, Vasyukov says. “We employ 3-5 thousand hectares of durum wheat in the Orenburg, Voronezh and Kursk regions,” he says. - We use both Russian and European varieties. Domestic ones are better adapted to local conditions, while foreign ones provide a quality that is more consistent with the strict requirements of companies that produce real pasta. "

"Siberian bread" grows durum for the fifth season. However, according to Miklukhin, this is an experimental production: the crops do not exceed 250 hectares. “We focused on developing technologies and finding the optimal variety. We mainly use the Omsk and Altai selection, ”he explains.

The yield of hard varieties is usually 15–20% lower than that of soft wheat, Miklukhin notes. “This is a spring agricultural crop, which means that it rarely gives indicators comparable to soft varieties, judging by the statistics of the total gross harvest,” confirms Zaitsev. - In the main producing regions - Orenburg and Chelyabinsk regions - the average collection per hectare rarely exceeds 10 centners. But in the southern zones, you can get 40–45 c / ha, he adds. “There are no differences in the yield of hard and soft varieties,” objected Vasyukov. - Previously, it was believed that durum spring wheat is significantly inferior to soft. From our experience we have proved that the indicators of two varieties can be on the same level. " For example, in the Kaluga Region, EkoNiva achieved a harvest of 70 centners per hectare.

Mainly domestic consumption

The main consumers of durum wheat are large producers of pasta - such companies as Makfa, SI Group, Limak and other players from the Central Black Earth Region, Siberia and the Volga region.Processing is mainly concentrated in the regions of agricultural cultivation, Zaitsev notes.

Makfa processes durum for macaroni production and uses it to produce semolina brands T, Pshenichnaya, Poltavskoy and Artek. “Following the growth in the volumes and geography of consumption of our products, as well as the expansion of the range, the volumes of durum wheat processing are also increasing. Over the past five years, they have increased by at least 1.5 times, ”says Vladlen Parshin, Director of Procurement and Supply of the company. Makfa buys raw materials for processing in Russia and Kazakhstan. The company does not observe a grain deficit: the gross harvest meets the needs of the processors, Parshin said. However, depending on weather conditions, there is a shortage of high-quality durum wheat on the market in some seasons. There are no quality problems in this agricultural year, the head notes, while the prices for raw materials in the current season are about 50% higher than in the past.

The premium to the price of durum wheat compared to soft wheat can be 7-10 thousand rubles per ton, draws attention to Alexander Korbut. Sizov confirms that, for example, last season, due to high demand, durum in some periods cost twice as much as soft wheat. If you grow durum wheat of the spelled line (spelled), then in terms of profitability it will surpass soft wheat more than twice, Miklukhin adds. This year Sibirskiy Khleb sold durum to processors at 13-14 thousand rubles / ton, and soft varieties - 10 thousand rubles / ton.

The main criterion influencing the purchase price of durum wheat is glassiness. Its performance is influenced by many factors: timeliness of harvesting, duration of droughts, etc. The higher the level of vitreousness, the higher the price of wheat, Zaitsev points out. “Grain with a glassiness index of 72–74% (third class) at the beginning of November cost about 21–22 thousand rubles / ton, while for soft wheat of the third class in the Central Black Earth Region“ at the processor's gate ”, on average, depending on gluten gave about 11 thousand rubles / ton, "- the expert cites the data.

Export is still insignificant

The supplies of Russian durum wheat abroad are extremely small. Russia has begun to assert itself as an exporter of durum wheat, the world market for which is extremely limited and highly competitive, only in recent years, says Korbut. In his opinion, the country has good prospects for exporting durum seed wheat. “We should take into account the traditions of domestic breeding and the high level of breeding work. This is confirmed by the almost complete absence of imports of durum seed wheat, ”he emphasizes. Last season, sales of commercial durum to the foreign market amounted to approximately 180 thousand tons.

Golov estimates the annual export of durum wheat at less than 100 thousand tons. According to IKAR, in 2011/12 agricultural year about 107 thousand tons were supplied abroad, in dry 2012/13 - 14 thousand tons. -2014/15 exported at the level of 90 thousand tons, and from July 1 to October 2015 - 34 thousand tons. "Thus, the growth of shipments directly depends on the production potential in a particular marketing year," concludes Zaitsev.

The main buyers of Russian durum wheat are Italian processors. Very rarely, products go to other directions - to other countries of Southern Europe and Turkey, says the head of the agricultural department of SGS Vostok Limited (services for independent examination, control, testing and certification) Sergey Derzhavin. “The export of Russian durum is traditionally very small. Usually it goes from October to February in small batches - vessels of 3-5 thousand tons - in general, no more than 10 thousand tons per month, - he comments. “After February, such grain is no longer exported, since it is simply not available, all the more so taking into account the quality requirements imposed by the Europeans.”Also, through the Russian shallow-water ports (Yeysk, Azov), the transit of Kazakh durum wheat is about the same. According to EU requirements, an admixture of soft wheat in the amount of more than 3% of the supplied batch, even if the glassiness indicator is met, can transfer the product to the category of grain mixture and a significant price discount, Derzhavin adds.

The main problem is the glassiness index, Derzhavin continues. According to the international methodology adopted in the EU, the definition of this indicator differs significantly from the GOST method, since it takes into account only completely glassy grains. As a rule, the results according to GOST, which the exporters initially own, are much lower than the European standards and it is often impossible to reach the contractual indicator for the EU countries (60–75%), the expert notes.

The director of the Rostov company "Agro-Tema" (engaged in grain export) Kerim Temukuev confirms that agricultural producers are experiencing various difficulties due to vitreous indicators. So, in GOST, which has not changed since 1972, that durum wheat, which in Russia passes as 3-4 class, in Europe according to ISO standards will be 1-2 class. “If the raw materials of farmers in Russia are evaluated according to the old GOST standards, then companies, striving to increase revenue, will give preference to export supplies,” Temukuev said.