Half of Kočani's rice harvest has been gathered
Harvest paused by bad weather and late sowing; producers ask for a purchase regulation and expect a higher production price.
About half of the rice crop in the Kočani region has been harvested so far, growers say. Fields that were sown earlier and irrigated from the Bregalnica River have largely been gathered, while plots in the areas of Spanchevo, Sokolartsi and Banje remain partly green and are still being harvested due to late sowing and frost damage.
Weather and timing slow the harvest
Producers report that progress has stalled in recent days because of rainy weather. "At the moment the harvest is finished at about 50 percent. The reason is the adverse weather, because, as you can see, the last days have been rainy, so we have not had harvesting for two days now. The yield is reduced by 50 percent from last year's crop, so farmers are not satisfied with the produce, but we have to gather it — whatever there is," said rice grower Toni Maksimov.
Those who planted earlier have higher yields than producers who sowed in May. Late-sown areas are still green and cannot be reaped, and frost in some spots further delayed maturation.
There is no official new production price yet. Last year's calculation was 25 denars per kilogram of barley, and this year producers expect it to rise to between 28 and 29 denars because of higher production costs.
Growers insist that adopting and enforcing a formal Purchase Regulation would help protect the crop in the Kočani area. "We have a request to the Ministry of Agriculture and to the government to make a Purchase Regulation and that when the rice starts to be bought, all buyers should purchase in this period according to how much they bought last year — how much they bought — and take the same amount now, instead of maneuvering. They maneuver in other ways because they have their own production, and then they do not buy that production from us rice producers, they process their own, they sell their own, and they wait to lower the price with us so they can then buy it," Maksimov added.
During a recent visit to the region, Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski urged buyers to act fairly, warning that if they do not, they will face strict penalties.
Photo: press material from the event
