In 2016 Russia for the second consecutive year has become the biggest supplier of watermelon in the Baltic States. According to the Russian export center (REC), at the end of last year, shipments amounted to 12.5 thousand tons, which is more than 20% of total imports to these countries.

Russian watermelons come mainly in Latvia and Lithuania, in Estonia, the proportion is much less than 10 years ago.

"They replaced Ukrainian and Italian melons", -specified in the message REC. In General, the market of the Baltic States, the main competitors are Russia, Hungary and Ukraine.

According to the Food and agriculture organization of the United Nations (FAO), Russia is among the ten leading producers of watermelons with a harvest of over 1.5 million tons per year, which is comparable to Uzbekistan and the United States. In addition to the Baltic countries, Russian imports watermelons Belarus, and from 2015, small deliveries are also carried out in Mongolia. In 2016, total exports amounted to 32 thousand tons.

Main regions-exporters — Volgograd and Rostov region. However, as reported by the "Agroinvestor", Deputy Director of the Association of melon growers of the Volgograd region Alexander Dudin, in 2016, the region experienced a decline in industrial production of watermelons.

"About 30-40% of the crop in the region remained on the sidelines", he said, it is connected with low consumer demand. "In commercial networks earlier in the season I ordered 2 tonnes of watermelon in a week, and in 2016 — only 500 so the Producers remain in profit, however, I think this year will be much smaller plant", — he said.

According to Rosstat, in Russia as a whole the gross harvest of melons food agricultures in 2016 increased by 5% compared to 2015, and amounted to 1.76 million tonnes, Of which 128 thousand tonnes for agricultural companies, 706 thousand tons — on the peasant (farmer) economy, the main part — 924 thousand tons — on the farming population. Leader in the production of melons is in the Volga Federal district, which last year received 43% of the total crop melons (757 thousand tons), in second place — southern Federal district (36% of the total harvest, or 630 thousand tons). The leader among the regions of the Orenburg oblast, where last year all farms produced 650 thousand tons of melons, followed by Volgograd and Astrakhan region (259 tonnes and 243 tonnes).

In 2016, melons sown area of agricultural crops in Russia has made 154,9 thousand hectares In 2017, according to the forecast of the Ministry of agriculture, they will not change and will be 154,1 thousand hectares.

Photo source: www.arnapress.kz