AGRICULTURAL HUBS
A new and as yet virtually unrealized in Russia format
is essentially the wholesale agro-market, which
combines logistics center providing transfers and
dispatching of export-import agro-product flows;
“warehouse-store” consisting of major batches of
smaller products for realization in retail chains and
stores; retail center of cash-and-carry type for smallwholesale
buyers and individuals; storage center
for major batches of agro-products; center for initial
processing of agro-products: washing, drying, packaging,
etc.
Such an agro-hub links up flows of practically
all products: vegetables, fruits, flowers, meat and
dairy products, sometimes – fish and sea products.
The main quality of such products relating to the
agro-hub’s functioning is their very quick expiration,
which creates the need for a very fast disposal cycle.
Therefore, all of the wholesale market infrastructure
should be aimed at minimizing the time for each
operation: loading-unloading, goods picking and
registering deals, settling deals and ensuring goods
storage. Territory of about 100 ha is needed for the agro-hub, including underground routes: automobile,
railway, and, when possible, waterway, according to
Nikolai Vecher from GVA Sawyer. The land plot should
be connected to electricity, water and sewage, as
well as gas. Set up on the territory itself are warehouses,
refrigeration and freezer rooms; single-story
retail pavilions are set up, where vendors lay out
sample items. To ensure settlements, a settlementregister
center and cash storage are necessary. Also
necessary are workshops for washing, drying and
packaging. For groups of goods subject to unification
according to consumer qualities, retail may be
organized according to the exchange principle, for
example in Holland at the tulip exchange. In Russia
such agro-hubs, according to participants, can either
be set up in major agricultural regions (Krasnodar,
Rostov), or in transportation hubs (St. Petersburg,
Novosibirsk, Vladivostok). Formats which are quite
commonplace in the world for now exist in Russia in
the form of relatively small regional wholesale markets,
frequently controlled by representatives of national disporas and are non-transparent in terms
of goods-cash flows.
Among analogues of hubs in
Russia, Anna Danchenok, deputy director consulting
and valuation department at NAI Becar, mentions the
Tomilino and Belaya Dacha complexes. However,
talk of opening the first full-fledged agricultural hub
recently started in Moscow – perhaps in 2013 one
of the famous companies will enter with such a
project. Furthermore, in late February Moscow’s
mayor presented a federal law project stipulating
the appearance in each major city of a wholesalefoodstuffs
market. The first two centers of the “field
to shelf” type will appear near Domodedovo and
Khimki, each covering an area of 20–30 ha. For convenience,
imported products will “travel” to Khimki
while Russian products – to Domodedovo. In all likelihood,
the venues will be located on the fringes of
Bulatnikovo railway station (near highway Don, about
10 km from the MKAD) and on the plot near the intersection
of Starokashirskoe and Novokashirskoe
motorways next to the village of Yam.
CRE #7(205), April 2013
