Opened in Moscow of the XII Congress of the millers, which brought together industry specialists from across the country. The refrain of many of the speeches was concern about the low quality of grain grown in the current year. Lack of quantities of wheat of the third class, which is used in the preparation of bakery flour, speakers at the Congress were estimated to be 12.6 million tons.
— This year we hear staggering forecasts for the grain harvest, but a huge crop, usually accompanied by low quality of grain, — said the President of the Russian Union of milling and groats enterprises Arcady Gurevich.
According to him, the quality of the grain decreases from year to year. And, as it is easy to understand, it almost automatically leads to a deterioration of the taste properties of the final product — bread.
So, according to the materials of the Union of milling and groats enterprises, the share of wheat of the third class in the gross grain harvest in 2012 was equal to 48.2%, in 2013 it fell to 38.5% in 2014 to 34.2%, in 2015 — to 33.2%.
At the Congress, — in the stands and on the sidelines, is “walked” frightening preliminary data as of 1 September 2016, the proportion of this variety will only reach 18…%.
Meanwhile, specialists of this sort is referred to the valuable — although I think the average power. Anyway, on the basic parameters it is suitable for baking. The definite pluses include the fact that the flour of this class does not need the addition of flour of durum, to the downside — that dramatically improve the quality of the flour from the weaker varieties of it not.
The question — than to replace the deficit of wheat of the third class, among the millers remained open.
What do we substitute for wheat of the 3rd class? Wheat lower classes. On this score there is debate — or can not — said from the rostrum Gurevich. — Developed the project of GOST, which can be called accepted, where officially recognized input to grinding party of grain, even wheat 5 grade (forage — ed.) if it is, of course, is not infected, if it corresponds to the requirements of the production.
…In a kind of a polemic with domestic millers entered, even before the opening of the Congress, the head of Rospotrebnadzor Anna Popova. In June she stated that the quality of bread in Russia is growing every year.
— From 2004 to date, the proportion of samples not meeting (quality standards — Ed.) for microbiological indicators, decreased by half: in 2004 — 6% today — 2.3 percent — said Ms. Popova on the signing of an agreement between Rospotrebnadzor and the Russian Guild of bakers and confectioners.
So what is the bread we eat is “fresh” or normal?
— Indeed, the grain harvest in 2016 in Russia is impressive; in any case, it is more significant than a year ago, says the Director of the Department of information and analytical support of the Russian Grain Union Rudolf Bulavin. In 2015, the Russian Federation had exported 35 million tons. When some experts with some disdain talking about wheat class III, it is necessary to consider that this is, in essence, the main wheat to produce flour. In total harvest of its share in Russia is lower this year than in the past. But if last year’s wheat crop was fixed at the level of 61.2 million tonnes, before the end of this year’s projected figure of the order of 72-73 million tonnes. Therefore, the growth is obvious — for the year collected more than 10 million tons.
“SP”: — So what is concerned about the millers?
They are concerned that the share of the total harvested wheat III grades are indeed lower, but exactly how much below — there is no data. The figure voiced by Gurevich at 12.6 million tonnes, belongs rather to the total volume of wheat, not only to the third grade. We must understand that the specialists of the Ministry of agriculture are assessing the grain, take the data, setting one or the other variety, and extrapolat them then the value for the whole country. But whatever the figures for 2016, in any case, grain class III this year, I believe, would be sufficient to produce flour. Now about the so-called grinding party, which is formed from different classes of wheat, where, in addition to the main the third class, may include third and fourth.
“SP”: — …the Bread baked from such a large “cocktail”, all you can eat?
— The fact that now, as you know, not Soviet times, when there was a single chain of bakeries. In market conditions plants and a small factory baking bread, learned how to do it not worse than it was then. Yes, there are those who prepare their products bad. But such is justice on the part of consumers and associations to protect their rights on the one hand; on the other, Rospotrebnadzor and other regulatory bodies. Standards has not been canceled, as you know. But the main thing is to ensure that the bread does not contain any extraneous and harmful impurities.
“SP”: — it Turns out that the problem that makes Arkady Gurevich, saying that we don’t have enough high-quality flour, exaggerated?
— This issue should be considered in the following perspective. For example, this year we are raising the third class wheat to 1 million tons less than last year. But from our side, our neighbors, the farmers of Kazakhstan. They have traditionally high yields, and they are happy we will supply the missing volumes. In the conditions of market economy the issue of shortage of grain agribusiness decides quickly. With regard to painting prices. Their level is the criterion of the deficit or its absence: if do of flour from wheat of III class in Russia were not enough, we would be watching now, the gallop of the prices for bread and bakery products. Yes, the price increase is, but he’s still a minor — was not one that was cast would have buyers in a panic.
— Marked Arkady Gurevich problems stem, by and large, not in the “narrow places” of the milling industry or of the industry of bakery products, and in a state of domestic agriculture as a whole, — says the Deputy of the State Duma of the Russian Federation in 1993-1999, co-Chairman of consumers Union of Russia Anatoly Golov. Here are felt technological, organizational, climate, edaphology aspects that are not solved properly for decades. Until recent times, durum wheat and class III was mainly on pasta, and the following IV and V varieties for bread. External the market we supply, as before, mostly feed wheat, that is, fodder, and we really have huge yields. But for baking bread Russia, as far as we can judge, the produce is clearly not enough. Before, even with the Brezhnev era, our country is actively purchased durum wheat abroad, including in the United States and Canada. But now, with the fall of the ruble, to buy in the same amount of grain from overseas became too expensive.
“SP”: — is There some kind of principle, in your opinion, the export and import of Russian grain?
— It is possible, I think, put in the formula we buy good wheat, and sell poorly. Due to the large harvest, we managed to bring down grain prices on the world market. Over the last 10 years they are the most low. But this list does not include prices for hard varieties; they are still high.
“SP”: — the Question to you as an expert of consumer rights protection: how to explain the increase in complaints from customers on poor quality of domestic grain production that sound, oddly enough, it is against the background of triumphant reports about record harvests?
— There is, incidentally, another segment of the complaints on prices. They vary in different outlets, but it is only growing and not exposed, unlike some other categories of food products, seasonal fluctuations to the downside. The quality of bread — that he did not become really quite expensive for the mass market (which is the product of the first necessity, let us not forget, in cakes to add all kinds of substitutes, cheaper raw materials. And this, of course, is reflected appropriately on the quality of bread.
“SP”: — How to break this vicious circle?
— Out of this only one — high-quality modernization of all Russian agro-industrial complex which will not be confined to the third grade of wheat as almost the pinnacle of agronomic advances. In principle, its properties can be estimated on the conditional score “tolerable” — on the background prevalence in the production of grain of the fourth and fifth grades. But, of course, for a large selhozarteli that, apparently, Russia claims, required the creation of conditions for full-scale production was durum.
