Russia: home grown tomatoes replace imports

In the last few months I have made a number of videos about the Russian agricultural sector an how it is now self sufficient in fod production across wheat,grains and cerials,in meat including, beef,pork and poultry,even eggs.It has also expanded its food production from just growing it to a full array of processing and production.
It now uses its  production of high quality to produce a wide variety of pastas so its no surprise to find that Russia is well on its way to developing self suffciency in the growing of tomatoes to then make a wide variety of tomato based sauces and replacing the type of sauces that they once imported.  

In recent years, Russia as part of its import substitution campaign has initiated an expansion of its volume of  tomato cultivation production,which has been  accompanied by a huge increase in the manufacture of finished products derived from this crop, with tomato paste,puree and sauces representing the primary output.
However,although the objective of achieving self-sufficiency in tomatoes is growing rapidly has not yet been fully met, in contrast to the situation with cucumbers. The importation of tomatoes still represents a significant proportion of the market. What were the reasons for the greater difficulty in achieving self-sufficiency in tomatoes compared to cucumbers?

In Russia, from 2019 to 2023, production of tomato products increased by 7% (from 613 to 655 thousand tons), driven by rising demand. The production of tomato paste and puree increased particularly significantly, by 15.4%, from 197 to 227 thousand tons. The aforementioned data are referenced in the study conducted by BusinesStat.
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In addition to pastes and purées, the category of tomato products encompasses juices and drinks, tomato sauces and ketchups, as well as whole or diced canned tomatoes.
The production of tomato products is growing, in part due to an increased demand for home cooking and healthy eating.
Most Russian families have access to a Dacha which is a small holding where they grow a variety of fruit and vegtables from the spring to the autumn,they go at weekends to enjoy the fresh air and cultivate the soil
At our Dacha we grow a wide variety of fruit and veg and are almost self sufficient in fruit and veg production.Almost all we produce is bottled,pickled,frozen or stored.
For example we make all our own pasta sauce using our home grown tomatoes,peppers,garlic,onions and herbs and I pickle onions,cucumbers and beetroots.

A distinctive aspect of tomato paste and puree production in Russia is the availability or otherwise of its own raw materials. Some companies process fresh tomatoes (including those grown in their own fields) and produce concentrates in industrial packaging for the retail market.

For instance, TM "Pikanta" owns its own tomato fields in Astrakhan, which ensure a consistent supply of premium-quality raw materials. The company produces a range of tomato-based products, including paste, adjika, lecho appetitka, sauces and ketchups, mashed tomato pulp and pizza sauce.
The revenue from the sale of tomato products has increased since 2022, with a predicted increase of approximately 67% in 2024. The company's primary revenue generator is mashed passata tomato pulp.
This product is an import substitute that has seen a steady increase in popularity in Russia. This year, we anticipate producing approximately 5 million units of passata, or puree" states Igor Morozov, head of the tomato department at "Tasty Product" (TM "Pikanta").
We are pleased to announce the launch of a new plant for the production of Tomarina paste in the Astrakhan Region. This new facility will be built with an investment of 8 billion rubles.( $85 million) This will be a full-cycle plant with the capacity to grow 230 thousand tons of tomatoes per year and produce 23 thousand tons of paste. The company has planted 650 hectares of open ground with Heinz variety of tomatoes.

There is currently a shortage of both raw materials and factories for the production of tomato paste. The sanctions have resulted in a notable reduction in the supply of tomato paste and puree from EU countries. The capacity of Russian factories was insufficient to meet the increased demand. Previously, this type of activity was not a popular choice among farmers.
A considerable proportion of tomato producers utilised pre-made paste, including those from overseas. "Therefore, the high growth rates now may be associated with a low comparison base," states Olga Lebedinskaya, Professor of Statistical Analysis at the Higher School of Economics. We now face competition from imported tomato paste, mainly from China.

The situation with the production of domestic tomatoes in Russia is also far from ideal, although there have been noticeable improvements. However, Russia's self-sufficiency in tomatoes in 2023 was only 65%, while self-sufficiency in cucumbers reached 95%. The proportion of imported tomatoes in the market remains significant, accounting for approximately 35% of the total. The principal suppliers of tomatoes to Russia are Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan (data from IKAR).

The high proportion of imported tomatoes can be attributed to the fact that, following the imposition of sanctions in 2014, the country was prompted to consider food security and move to import substitution . Consequently, investors initially prioritised the construction of modern greenhouses for cucumber production, given the higher returns this sector offers.
Initially, there was a lack of interest from investors in the tomato sector. For comparison, the yield per square metre for cucumbers is in excess of 160 kg, while that for tomatoes is approximately 100 kg.
However, once the ceiling for cucumbers was reached, greenhouse farms began to develop mainly due to investments in tomato production. According to IKAR, there has been a gradual decline in the share of greenhouse cucumbers in recent years, with an increase in tomato production.

The objective, as with cucumbers, was for the country to become self-sufficient in tomatoes, indicating that there is still potential for growth. It is imperative that we pursue import substitution, given the challenging circumstances posed by sanctions and payment difficulties, which have led to a significant increase in the cost of imported products for Russian consumers.

"Domestic production of tomatoes will ensure food security and make prices for this product more predictable," states Sergei Grishunin, Managing Director of NRA rating service.

Each year sees the opening of new greenhouses for the cultivation of tomatoes. In the previous year alone, new greenhouse complexes were launched in the Leningrad Region (Dary Prirody), Stavropol Krai (Belaya Dacha), the Republic of Bashkortostan (Eco-Culture) and North Ossetia (Alania).
Tomatoes are now demonstrating higher growth dynamics than cucumbers. Consequently, between 2018 and 2023, the production of greenhouse cucumbers increased by 16.5%, while that of tomatoes rose by a third. The profitability of greenhouse vegetables in 2023 reached an all-time high of 22.8% (exclusive of subsidies), thereby creating a favourable environment for the launch of new projects.

There has also been growth in open-ground tomato production. According to the Ministry of Agriculture, tomato production has increased by 1.2 times over five years, reaching a record 1.1 million tons, and in closed ground by 1.7 times, to 724 thousand tons.

The region of Stavropol Krai is the leading producer of greenhouse tomatoes in the country. Other successful regions include Krasnodar Krai, Lipetsk, Moscow, Kaluga, Voronezh and Tambov. These regions account for over 50% of the total volume.
The Astrakhan and Volgograd regions, along with the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic, are the primary contributors to the development of open-ground vegetable production, collectively accounting for approximately 95% of the output of open-ground tomatoes.

"The main risks to the growth of tomato production are weather conditions and the availability of seeds, given that Russia's seed industry is still far from self-sufficiency," says Sergei Grishunin.

He also highlighted the need to implement automated systems not only for vegetable cultivation but also for post-harvest operations such as sorting, packaging and labelling, given the significant losses incurred at this stage. High-tech methods, including artificial intelligence, are now being employed in this process.

The high cost of investment in tomato production represents a significant barrier to the development of the industry. In this context, state support in the form of preferential loans is of critical importance. If farms were to pay interest at current rates, the profitability of tomato production in Russia would be significantly enhanced. It is also necessary to provide state support for investment in seed farming. "It is impossible to achieve food security without considering the entire value chain, including seed production," Grishunin believes. The industry also faces a shortage of human capital, which can be addressed by restoring training processes for agronomists and plant protection specialists, according to the expert.
So Russia's quest for food securtity and sovereignty continues as it invests heavily into its food production sector. Producing high quality food for the people at affordable prices means the country is not at the mercy of the agricultural multi nationals that dominate and manipulate the markets around the world.