2023-06-14 14:42:22
To avoid the chaos of an extended Campaign 2023, let’s make array use agreements 5 years
Lyudmil Rabotov, chairman of the Union of Grain Producers from Plovdiv, in front of Agro Plovdiv
Mr. Rabotov, what is the state of the grain harvest?
We managed to protect the crops from diseases and enemies. The frequent rains created a prerequisite for more diseases, mainly brown rust and septoria, but in general we managed and preserved the crop. We hope it will be plentiful and of good quality. At least if there is no clear price, let’s have a good harvest.
What is expected to be the starting price of wheat and canola anyway?
Futures prices on international markets are not at all encouraging – below BGN 400 per ton of wheat. Such a price cannot cover the expenses we have incurred with the expensive fertilizers and fuels.
The cost price is a relative number that everyone must calculate for themselves, but it is between BGN 250 and 300 per acre.
In the case of rape, the cost price is higher due to more frequent treatments with plant protection products. This crop requires more care and attention and therefore growers have started to avoid canola in the crop rotation, unfortunately. It is a good culture for me that I will continue to cultivate. There is also no clarity on the price at which the buyback will begin. Yesterday, if I’m not mistaken, I saw futures for 420 euros per ton of rapeseed.
What will the rent be this year? Will it decrease because of the crisis in grain production?
As kilograms, it will be preserved. In our area the rent is about 100 kg of grain per acre and this way of paying the rent is preferred.
When will the harvest start in Plovdivsko?
Looking at the canola fields that are along the highway, maybe next week it will start harvesting. The day will depend on whether the predicted weekend rains actually fall and how irrigating they are. When the moisture lifts, we’ll go in with the harvesters. The readiness for barley is similar. By the time we harvest the canola and barley, it will be time for the wheat. Her harvest is likely to begin at the end of this month. In the sandier areas, the wheat will be ready earlier.
In other areas of the country, your colleagues are complaining about unsold wheat. Is it the same in our region and in southern Bulgaria?
There is almost no unsold wheat in the area. There are always people who wait for a better moment to realize. Unfortunately, the new crop and the old crop will meet this year. For last year’s goods, more special conditions of storage, fumigation, protection from warehouse enemies, separation of batches of new and old grain are required, which is an additional commitment.
Are you optimistic that the market will move?
Basically, a farmer is always an optimist. But
the situation today is “for one – a wedding, for another – an axe”.
What happened with the Nova Kakhovka dam in Ukraine, I think should affect the world price of grain. According to the analyzes and forecasts of the USDI, Russia will have an extremely rich and high-quality grain harvest. The most unpleasant thing that has been happening since the beginning of 2022 so far is the unpredictability of markets and prices. You can’t predict what the expenses and income will be, not to mention the climate. The authorities make many mistakes that have a detrimental effect on the entire agricultural sector, and grain production in particular.
Is grain production developed where the waters of the Ukrainian dam passed?
As far as I know, yes. Even the fields had irrigation infrastructure. Wheat, corn, sunflower were grown. According to the US Department of Agriculture, the destroyed crop there will affect the world trade in agricultural goods.
What will you ask of the new Minister of Agriculture and his team? When will you receive the European aid, which is about BGN 50 million?
I expect from the new minister that we will receive support, that we will have synchronicity and audibility so that the problems in our sector can be shared, discussed with him and adequate decisions can be made. Maybe the ministry should do something at the state level so that we can offer our harvest to foreign countries, whether they are in or out of the EU.
About the European pomo, we know nothing about it.
We expect the Minister of Agriculture to continue with the land reform and not to delay too much the Campaign 2023 for claiming direct payments. It is important for our sector not to stretch the outlines.
It’s going to be a big mess. People will not have ready agreements,
we will enter a campaign to prepare the fields for the next sowing. We won’t have ready contracts and agreements and everything will go wrong. In previous years, we had to submit the legal grounds for land management to the offices by July 31. In this way, the farmer indicates whether or not he wants to participate in the agreement on declared arrays, which is signed after August 15. The problem with extending the campaign to 2023 is that old and new legal grounds may be asserted and the program may not be able to differentiate the data.
What can be done in today’s situation of repeatedly extended campaign deadlines?
Now it occurs to me that the agreements can be made for 5 years as well. This will avoid the accumulated tension between tenants, owners and services. Thus, if the agreements are for 5 years, we will have a smoother acceptance of challenges of the new programming period.
Are there less sunflower fields this year?
I have no information about reduced areas. By the way, this year we call it “sunflower” because of the rainfall. Between 150 and 200 liters of rain have fallen since March 1. Towards Rakovski it rains a little more, south of Plovdiv less. Sunflower is a traditional crop in the crop rotation, so we cannot change the areas with it that much.
Aren’t you worried about the large import of crude oil from Ukraine?
Indeed, the processors put in a quack to fulfill their contracts with the contractors. And with regard to the future sunflower crop, I expect us to shake hands with them and help each other. Sunflower in our country produces about 3 million tons of seeds. This amount will be enough to load the capacities of the Bulgarian processing enterprises. We don’t want to sell for high profits, we want to cover our costs and make a small profit.
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