Kamchatka surprises not only with its volcanoes and a two-meter layer of snow in the forests, but also with the price of vegetables. Although it would seem that there is nothing to be surprised at: the peninsula is remote, the railway has not been laid. So vegetables must be expensive because they are all imported.
But no, the most expensive vegetables in Kamchatka are local, Kamchatka! If a kilogram of imported tomatoes from Volgograd can cost 650 rubles, then Kamchatka ones are quietly sold at a thousand per kg. And these are the prices of a year ago: I’m even afraid to imagine how much they are asking for a tomato in Kamchatka now.
Cucumbers for 650 rubles are the norm for Kamchatka
Vegetables are more expensive than meat – this is quite a normal situation for Kamchatka. Imported roads because of logistics, but with their own it is still more interesting. The climate in Kamchatka, you know, is not conducive to growing juicy tomatoes and cucumbers: there is snow for about seven months a year, and the rest of the time there is no heat and sun as such.
Despite the fact that Kamchatka is located at fairly southern latitudes (if we take Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, and not the northern regions), the climate here is not at all southern. Winds are constantly blowing, clouds are moving across the sky, there is a lot of snow in winter … in general, the conditions are not the most favorable for agriculture.
Therefore, tomato-cucumbers have to be grown in greenhouses. There are many thermal springs in Kamchatka that provide free hot water, which can be perfectly used to heat these very greenhouses. But in fact, natural hot water in Kamchatka is almost more expensive than heated at a thermal power plant.
Local companies that manage thermal water for heating complain about the high costs of bringing water to the point of final consumption and maintaining equipment. And people pay because there are no other options, only the price tag for water is then included in the final cost of the cucumber on the counter.
Future Kamchatka greenhouses. Termalniy Settlement
It is possible to grow vegetables in open ground in Kamchatka without greenhouses, but it is very difficult. Surely some zoned varieties are used, and even they do not have time to ripen properly in the short Kamchatka summer.
Greenhouses are still needed, and hot water is needed for greenhouses – continue according to the above scheme. Is it any wonder that for local tomatoes they ask for 650 rubles per kilogram. More precisely, they asked a year ago. They probably cost even more now.
How do you like these prices? Would you buy meat with this money or vegetables?