After remaining stock, new plantings of wheat in October are expected to decrease by up to 15%

2024-10-03 07:37:00, Ekonomi CNA

After remaining stock, new plantings of wheat in October are expected to

Wheat crop has been one of the most widely planted crops in the country by farmers. The month of October is the wheat planting period, but according to the representatives of seed sales companies and agronomists, the interest of farmers in planting is decreasing.

Vasfi Sherifi, head of the company AGROVAS-SHE, for the marketing of seeds, seedlings and chemical fertilizers, at the same time and an agronomist by profession, said that this year a decrease of up to 15% of crops is expected in the area of ??Korça.

The reason, according to him, is the lack of a market for selling the product. For the period 2023-2024, wheat produced by farmers remained in stock, from the price drop of 50 to 60% compared to the sale price in 2022.

"Farmers' interest in increasing wheat crops is decreasing. This year, it is thought that crops will fall by 15%. This was entirely due to the drop in the sale price of wheat and its remaining stock.

While production costs have not increased. The prices of wheat fertilizer products have decreased by 40% compared to 2022, where due to the war in Ukraine, there was a high cost of them. The prices of wheat seed for planting have also decreased," he said.

Agronomists claim that due to the non-sale of grain, farmers are forced to use the amount produced as animal feed.

In addition to the lack of profitability, the depopulation of the mountainous areas has resulted in some remote villages being left without wheat grinding mills. The presence of a mill in the village has contributed over the years to the increase of areas planted with wheat for the local population. Their lack is affecting the abandonment of wheat planting in the quantities of consumption itself.

Due to the high increase in the price of cereals in 2022 in foreign markets affected by the Russia-Ukraine war, the Ministry of Agriculture encouraged farmers with direct subsidies in the amount of 30 thousand lek per hectare for increasing the planted areas.

Farmers received subsidies in May 2023. With direct subsidies, 4 thousand farmers were supported with a fund of 5 million USD. The financing increased in certain areas the areas of land with crops up to 40% according to agronomists.

In 2023, according to INSTAT data, the area of ??land planted with wheat reached 57,200 ha. Compared to 2022, the area of ??land planted with wheat increased by 6%.

According to agronomists, before the 90s, the area of ??land planted with wheat reached up to 200,000 ha. Compared to 1998, the earliest period reported by INSTAT, wheat crops for 2023 were reduced by 45%. While the amount of wheat produced increased by about 1% compared to 2022.

But farmers sold wheat below cost, as the price was halved compared to 2022. In July, the price for selling wheat was 21 to 23 ALL per kg, up to 33% cheaper than in 2023. Compared to the selling price of domestic wheat in 2022, the price drop is about 60%./ Monitor magazine