Information for fruit and vegetables business in CIS
Ukraine: Crimea to have no potatoes and vegetables in 2014
The 2014 sowing campaign was one of the most difficult for Crimean farmers that had faced problems with water and energy supply, payments for produce and possibilities to sell it, problems with purchase of plant protection products and other insoluble issues.
In the beginning of the campaign, farmers were most concerned in the water supply issue, as it is almost impossible to grow produce without irrigation in Crimea. As long as irrigation channels are empty, growers have to deliver water from nearest water sources (if they are available) to save at least a part of their crop.
Crimean farmers started planting early and middle-season vegetables on their own risk hoping for solution of the North Crimean Canal water supply before seedling stage. As a result, due to lack of irrigation, germination of those crops was extremely low with production volume outlook being rather vague. Thus a number of those interested in planting late vegetables in Crimea tends toward zero.
“For the present, we have no seedlings in the fields”, a Crimean farmer comments. “Seedlings from greenhouses must have already been transplanted, but it is impossible without water. As a result, we will have just to throw them out”.
Well boring is the only solution for Crimean growers now. However, farmers with available wells complain of high electricity costs. Those who only plan to bore a well will have to spend at least UAH 45,000 (about 2,500 euro) per each well. The energy supply issue is also unsolved that can make well boring useless. Even if energy supply is available, some fields have no electric power lines, and running a line can cost several times as high as well boring.
In addition, a well may be a solution for those farmers that grow vegetables on a small area or in hothouses and greenhouses. Farmers with more than 5 hectares under vegetables will not be saved by well irrigation. Specially serious problems will be faced by potato growers with hundreds of hectares. They will be saved only by availability of water in irrigation channels.
Furthermore, a well boring queue is scheduled for few following weeks, therefore well irrigation can be started at least in a month. The experts also believe that water chemistry in some wells may be unfit to irrigate, therefore farmers can simply throw away their money.
Meanwhile, Russian and self-appointed Crimean authorities do nothing to solve the issue except conducting meetings, giving promises and accusing their Ukrainian colleagues, with nobody knowing when such a “frenzied activity” will change into real actions.
Crimeans can now be sure of the only thing: Crimea will have almost no locally grown potatoes and vegetables in the season 2014/15 with prices of imported produce being extremely high. Prices in Russia are higher than in Ukraine, and logistics costs during delivery to Crimea are not low too. Thus starting from June Crimeans must get ready to pay 2-3 times as high for potatoes and vegetables as usual.