Domestic agricultural producers continue to reduce buckwheat crops due to the intervention of low-quality and cheap groats originating from the Russian Federation.

This is evidenced by the results of a survey conducted among the members of the Ukrainian Agri Council (UAC) public association.

"In 2018, we reduced the crop of buckwheat on the farm almost twice - to 149 hectares. And this year we do not plan to grow buckwheat at all, because it is unprofitable. Low-quality Russian buckwheat groats are imported to the domestic market at a price of about 10.5 thousand UAH per ton. And in order for the Ukrainian product not to lose its competitiveness at the shelves of stores, producers are forced to sell buckwheat to grain mills at a price of about 6.5-7 thousand UAH per ton. But this amount does not cover production costs ", - said the participant of the UAC, director of the "Peremoga" LLC (Kyiv region) Mykola Malienko.

Vice-chairman of the UAC Denis Marchuk noted that according to the data of the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food, domestic farmers in 2018 reduced production of buckwheat compared to 2017 by 30% - to 0.13 million tons. In this case, buckwheat planted in 2018 was 104.6 thousand hectares, whereas in 2017 this figure amounted to 184.8 thousand hectares.

The forced reduction of the buckwheat crops, in turn, undermines the Ukrainian branch of beekeeping, since there is no substitute for this culture as a honey plant.

"The dynamics are disappointing. If measures to limit the import of cereals from an aggressor country are not taken, farmers will continue to reduce the crop of buckwheat. And in the end, instead of growing its own quality product, Ukraine risks turning into an importer of these products. At the same time low-quality cheap Russian grain not only destroys the economic motivation of Ukrainian agricultural producers to grow buckwheat, it is also harmful to consumption. It is important to note that low quality buckwheat from Russia is imported into Ukraine under shadow schemes. Significant volumes of this product are supplied from Kazakhstan. In general, the share of Russian cereals in the domestic market reaches about 45-50%", - said Marchuk.

Laboratory researches prove that the Russian product is manufactured in violation of the technology - imported cereals in 9 out of 12 indicators do not meet the standards of quality DSTU.

Recall that, according to UAC, in order to protect the Ukrainian market, it is necessary to introduce anti-dumping duties on imports of buckwheat originating from the Russian Federation. The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine should stimulate the production of buckwheat and protect the domestic producer through state support mechanisms. In addition, the State Committee for Consumer Goods and Consumer Protection must check the existing product on Ukrainian shelves to comply with DSTU standards due to the poor quality of imported groats.