Last year's potato harvest in Russia hit a record high, totalling 8.6 million tons, according to Federal State Statistics Service data, surpassing market demand by a million tons. Experts and industry representatives express concerns that a portion of this surplus might remain unsold.
Government interventions aimed at supporting exports and fostering processing could alleviate the situation. Export appears as a viable option to mitigate the surplus. According to Alexey Krasilnikov, Executive Director of the Potato Union, from January to mid-December last year, around 326,000 tons of potatoes were exported from Russia. Previously, annual exports averaged about 150,000 tons.
There are prospects for expanding potato exports, particularly to the countries of the former Soviet Union, notably Central Asia, where potato cultivation faces challenges due to high summer temperatures.
Russian potato growers also have orders from Serbia for exclusive varieties with red flesh.
source: izvestiy-kamen.ru