Source: Zerno.ru (Russia)
The production of rye and rye flour in Russia has declined in recent years, but there is no shortage of these products, said Igor Sviridenko, President of the Russian Association of Flour and Grain Enterprises, at the XVI Congress of Flour and Grain Enterprises.
“While everything is going more or less well with the supply of wheat to flour manufacturers, things are not looking so good for rye. The harvest forecast for 2024 is 1.4 million tons, which is generally not enough,” Interfax reports on his words.
Sviridenko recalled that the rye harvest fell below 2 million tons for the first time in 2018, although in the early 1990s it was over 16 million tons. “Since 2018, it has been fluctuating in this value all the time – about 2 million tons,” he said.
“There is a decline in rye production and a corresponding decline in rye bread production. We are not talking about a deficit, we are talking about the fact that we are simply physically losing this product on the table of Russians”, – said the head of the union.
According to him, producers are not interested in production because the yield of rye is significantly lower and the price is far below the cost of wheat. The analysis of the trade union shows that the price is in the four-digit range – less than 10 thousand rubles per ton.
“And that probably suits everyone, we haven’t heard anyone worrying about it,” he said. – Perhaps it is indeed a far-fetched problem for flour mills. We are losing some types of national products. Steamed beets, for example, are now only found in proverbs, perhaps black bread will also become a kind of exotic”.
Arkady Gurevich, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Agroprom Ltd, expressed concern about rising rye prices. “Prices are galloping, even in the regions where rye is grown, they have already exceeded 10,000 and even 11,000 rubles per ton. In Tula, we are already buying rye for 13 thousand roubles per ton. And you can imagine what the selling price of rye flour will be in our farms,” he said.
According to his calculations, the resources of rye, taking into account the carryover stocks this season (July 2024 – June 2025), amount to 1.930 million tons.