June 25 2007, 09:52

Acreage of "winter" greenhouses continues reducing in Russia; segment of film greenhouses tends to grow

The analysts of CIS produce business periodical, "Agrooglyad: Vegetables and Fruits" journal", inform that the acreage of glass (winter) greenhouses continues reducing in Russia in line with the simultaneous growth of the cultivation areas in film greenhouses (which are often called forcing frames or tunnels).

The reduction of the greenhouse acreage takes place on the background of the rapid growth of investments to the greenhouse business. According to the data of the market players, there were around 4,000 ha of glass greenhouses in early nineties of the 20th century; as of today, there is only 1700-2200 ha of them left. At the same time, the producers are building new greenhouses in various regions: Siberia to Far East, the central regions of Russia to the South of the country. The experts believe that the construction of greenhouses in the southern regions of the Russian Federation has the greatest perspectives with the account of the price growth for energy.

It is worth mentioning that the segment of plastic greenhouses has started to arise in Russia; they were little known in the country before. However, two-layer plastic greenhouses start to appear in some regions; the producers can build them even in cold areas. The plastic greenhouses have the major advantage over the glass greenhouses - it's the price. Plastic greenhouses are 3-4 times cheaper than glass greenhouses, as a rule; but they are many times more expensive than the forcing frames. That's why plastic greenhouses are of interest primarily for those producers who own old low greenhouses of Soviet type, and also for the large farmers who manage great farms with film greenhouses.