October 16, 2013. 207,500,000 kg of potatoes were harvested in Sverdlovsk Region this year, which is 35,500,000 more than a year earlier. On average, the wholesale price comes to 8-10 RUR, and no dramatic price increase is to be expected, Deputy Minister for Agriculture & Foods Sergey Sharapov said at a briefing today.

Sharapov does not think the vegetable prices are likely to go up sharply. He says, however, that potatoes are being harvested from very humid soil in most parts of Russia at the moment, which means the vegetables cannot be stored for a very long time.
'This might, in fact, be something that the potato producers are saying in order to sell more of it right now,' the official says.

What is more, new storage facilities are being built as well; these are expected to offer a safe keeping place for the potatoes for nearly the next harvest's time. Sverdlovsk Region budget has a portion of 2014 funds allocated for modernization and construction of warehouses and having refrigerators installed in them. At the moment, the officials are looking at five or six enterprises where these facilities will be introduced: these are the companies based in Tugulym, Krasnoufimsk, Bogdanovitch, and Beloyarsky Districts.

Sharapov also said he did not know whether the local producers would be able to retain their share of the potato market.