OREANDA-NEWS  Anatoly Tikhonov, Head of the RANEPA Center for International Agribusiness and Food Security, in an interview with KP.RU estimated the potato harvest in 2026 and its impact on the price of the product.

 Earlier it became known that as of the beginning of October, 14.65 million tons of potatoes were harvested in Russia, which is 8.7 percent less than in the same period a year earlier. Harvesting was completed on 87 percent of the crops. Analysts at AB Center believe that a total of 7.6 million tons of potatoes will be harvested in the industrial sector by the end of the year, which is 11.5 percent less than in 2025, but 100,000 tons better than in 2024.

Tikhonov explains the decline in volumes by economic logic: due to record supply in 2025, product prices fell, which prompted farmers to reduce their acreage in the spring to 968.2 thousand hectares.

The expert noted that coverage for domestic demand is provided with a margin: personal subsidiary farms produce about 9.5 million tons. The Ministry of Agriculture also indicates that the current level of self-sufficiency is 96.3 percent.

As for the price dynamics, the cost of potatoes decreased by 9.2 percent in September. However, as Tikhonov emphasizes, the availability of vegetable storages is a key factor in price formation. According to the Potato Union, there is a shortage of storage capacity in the country ranging from two to three million tons. Because of this, manufacturers are forced to sell products at low prices in the fall, and by spring the cost inevitably increases. The specialist pointed out the need for infrastructure development, rather than chasing one-time yield records.

Tikhonov concluded that the expansion of storage capacity would keep prices under control, while the lack of such investments could lead to an increase by the spring of 2027.

Earlier it was reported that in September, carrots and potatoes fell the most in large Russian chains on a monthly basis.