Stavropol farmers visited a plant of a friendly state
Global instability and unprecedented sanctions against Russia create a unique competitive advantage for domestic agricultural machinery and manufacturers from friendly countries. The Republic of Belarus has been our faithful companion for many years. In mid-February, a delegation of Stavropol agricultural producers visited one of the leading Belarusian enterprises for the production of forage and grain harvesting equipment – the Gomselmash plant.
Growth dynamics
How to make work on the land not only cost-effective, but also as comfortable as possible for farmers? This requires modern technology, affordable spare parts and quality service. Recent events have severely limited the possibility of acquiring imported agricultural machinery for Russian farmers. The consequence of Western sanctions was Russia’s progressive policy aimed at import substitution.
As you know, a holy place is never empty. According to experts, the share of Belarusian and domestic agricultural products in sales tends to be 100 percent. They also note that recently the popularity of Belarusian agricultural machinery in Russia has been growing. And that she has every chance to strengthen her position.
Thus, last year many agrarian regions of the country declared the need to expand and strengthen cooperation with Belarus. The constituent entities of the Russian Federation open new dealer centers, conclude agreements and contracts not only for the supply of equipment, spare parts, as well as after-sales service, but also for the organization of joint production. In particular, the administration of the Krasnodar Territory came up with such an initiative.
For Stavropol, as the breadbasket of Russia, grain harvesting equipment is of particular importance. The popularity of Belarusian harvesters among local farmers is evidenced by statistics provided by the press service of the regional Ministry of Agriculture.
Thus, in 2018-2022, Stavropol agricultural producers purchased 171 combine harvesters made in the Republic of Belarus in the amount of 1 billion 856 million rubles. Over the past five years, the supply of harvesters from a friendly state to the region amounted to about 14.4 percent of the total supply. Currently, the Stavropol combine harvester fleet includes 612 grain harvesters manufactured by Gomselmash OJSC and Bryanskselmash Joint Venture JSC. This is a little less than ten percent of the entire fleet of grain harvesters in the region. For comparison, in 2018, the share of Belarusian-made combines was 8.2 percent (521 units, an increase of 1.6%).
A significant increase in the pace of sales is evidenced by the data of 2022, when 61 Belarusian grain harvesters worth 962 million rubles were delivered to the region’s farms, which already accounted for 35.7 percent of the total supply in quantitative terms and 51.8 percent in monetary terms. And the demand for self-propelled vehicles of Belarusian production compared to 2018 among agricultural producers of the region has almost doubled!
As noted in the Ministry of Agriculture of the Territory, the cooperation of Stavropol farmers with the companies “Gomselmash” and “Bryanskselmash” made it possible to reduce the level of equipment that is beyond the depreciation period of operation to 40.7 percent.
Better to see once
Demand, according to the classics of economic science, gives rise to supply. In addition, it contributes to the establishment of strong business contacts. For the first time since the pre-Covid times, a delegation of farmers from Stavropol went to the Republic of Belarus. It included heads of farms and leading specialists of the engineering services of agricultural organizations in the region, as well as representatives of the Ministry of Agriculture of the region. The trip was organized by the regional dealer of self-propelled agricultural machinery of the Gomselmash trademark – Palesse-ST OJSC.
“Interest in Belarusian technology is really growing,” confirms Vitaly Plivanyuk, Director General of Palesse-ST. “Compared to 2021, sales have grown by about 30-40 percent. Since the demand is very high, we decided to show our farmers how production is organized in Belarus so that they can see for themselves how the plant is growing and developing.
Gomselmash is an enterprise with a long and glorious history. During the Great Patriotic War, the plant survived the evacuation, but was restored by the efforts of the workers, and in recent decades has made a scientific, technical and technological breakthrough.
If until 1996 the enterprise mainly produced forage harvesting equipment, supplying it to all the republics of the Soviet Union, then after, at the initiative of the President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko, it focused on grain harvesters. It is grain harvesters that now provide up to 85 percent of the company’s revenue.
Today, Gomselmash is a modern diversified production, one of the largest suppliers of agricultural machinery, one of the leaders in the world market of combines and other complex agricultural machines. Under the Gomselmash brand, a range of grain, forage, cob and potato harvesters, mowers and other equipment are produced. The product line includes 16 types of agricultural machines, 75 basic models and modifications, 70 types of adapters and devices for harvesting various crops.
A self-sufficient enterprise, Gomselmash has a full range of modern production technologies, has its own foundry, independently produces the main parts and components of combines, which allows the production of different types of machines at the same time, better quality control at all stages of production. For the next 3-4 years, the designers of the plant were given the task of mastering the production of their own hydrostatic transmission and hydraulic units. The main engine for self-propelled vehicles, the Russian YaMZ, will remain so in the future. Geography of deliveries – Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Romania, Bulgaria, Baltic countries, Argentina, Brazil, China, South Korea and other countries. The company has a wide distribution network, a number of joint ventures and assembly plants, including those in the Russian Federation (JSC JV Bryanskselmash).
Forward to the USSR
The delegation of Stavropol agrarians got acquainted with the history of the plant, samples of Gomselmash equipment (both out of production and coming off the assembly line), a foundry, shops for the production of hardware, assembling bridges, gearboxes, variable gear boxes, a shop for painting units and parts , the main and additional assembly lines, the activities of the design and technical bureau of hydropneumoautomatics of the plant, and also met with the management of the enterprise – General Director Alexander Novikov and his deputy Viktor Slavashevich.
There was a “live” exchange of views between the parties on issues of further strengthening bilateral cooperation. Our agrarians made proposals to the design and technical bureau and expressed their wishes for the improvement of equipment.
“It was as if we were traveling in a time machine: back, or rather, forward, to the USSR,” Yevgeny Safaryan, head of the Mir collective farm, shared his impressions. – Almost all components are produced at the plant: what is called, from the nut to the cab. In the near future, technology will also have its own “brains” in electronics. That is, the plant does not depend on third-party suppliers. I would also like to note that order reigns everywhere and strict discipline is established. It struck.
Another participant of the trip, Andrey Leshchenko, Chief Engineer of JSC SHP Avangard, also noted the unique in-house production of the Belarusian plant.
“The entire production cycle, with a few exceptions, is concentrated in one place,” he said. – This is very important, as it significantly affects the quality of the produced equipment. The whole plant works “on call”, no one is in a hurry, stability is felt. In a word, they know how to do it – and they do it.
The Ministry of Agriculture of the Territory is confident in the fruitful cooperation between the agro-industrial complex of Stavropol and Belarusian agricultural engineering.
“There is enough space on the Russian market for everyone, both domestic and Belarusian manufacturers,” says Minister Sergei Izmalkov. – And our farmers, in turn, can be sure: the region will not be left without grain harvesting equipment!
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