The Minister of Agriculture, Oksana Lut. Photo: Nikolay KORESHKOV
Let us briefly recall the history. In early 2014, Crimea joined Russia, the Ukrainian government declared war on the east of its own country, and our state supported the Russian-speaking population of Donbass and Lugansk. The United States and EU countries tried to isolate Russia from the rest of the world. Including by introducing sanctions on a number of goods and technologies that are essential for us. In response, the Russian president signed a decree on the embargo of food on August 6, 2014.
Ten years later, the Russian Ministry of Agriculture summed up the development of the Russian agro-industrial complex in the context of counter-sanctions.
POTATO HARVEST – THE BEST IN 30 YEARS
According to Agriculture Minister Oksana Lut, the trends of recent years characterize Russia’s direction towards intensive development of the agricultural sector and strengthening our position as a guarantor of global food security. “Today we not only provide ourselves with all basic food products in the widest range, but also have one of the most flexible and technologically competitive markets in the world. Russian companies are able to produce almost anything and adapt to any external conditions, as evidenced by the situation in 2022-2023, when a number of foreign brands left the country. Just like in 2014, vacated niches were quickly filled by domestic companies, and consumers did not feel any change,” the head of the Ministry of Agriculture noted.
In the period 2014-2023, the real growth of agricultural production was 33.2%, and that of food products – 42.9%. The dynamics of sustainable development is characteristic of both the agro-industrial complex as a whole and its individual sectors.
In agricultural production, the grain harvest during this period increased from 92.4 million tons to about 150 million tons, and the sugar beet harvest – from 39.3 million tons to 53.2 million tons. The production of oilseeds showed the greatest growth – 2.3 times (from 13.2 million tons to 29.9 million tons). And the potato harvest at the end of 2023 reached its highest level in the last 30 years – 8.6 million tons, which is 1.6 times higher than the level in 2013 (5.4 million tons).
Fruit and vegetable production volumes have increased 1.7-fold in 10 years and reached a record level last year: 7.5 million tonnes (in 2013 – 4.5 million tonnes). Of these, 1.64 million tonnes are greenhouse vegetables, the harvest of which has increased 2.6-fold since 2013 (from 0.64 million tonnes). Fruit and berry harvests increased 2.8-fold – from 0.7 million tonnes to a record 1.9 million tonnes last year.
THE FLOW OF CHEESE MAKING
Good results have also been achieved in the livestock sector. Thus, livestock and poultry production increased by 35.6% compared to 2013, from 12.2 million tonnes to 16.53 million tonnes. Including pigs, by 67.6% (from 3.6 million tonnes to 6.06 million tonnes), and poultry, by 36.6% (from 5.2 million tonnes to 7.04 million tonnes).
Milk production increased by 13.2% (from 29.9 million tonnes to 33.8 million tonnes). The positive dynamics are largely due to the increase in productivity of dairy herds. Milk production per cow in agricultural organisations increased by 80.7% and at the end of last year reached 8,165 kg (4,519 kg in 2013).
An important factor in the growth of the livestock industry was the active construction of new complexes, as well as the reconstruction and modernization of existing complexes – more than 3,400 facilities in total. In dairy production alone, 885 farms were renovated during this time and another 1,433 facilities were built from scratch. This made it possible to increase milk production by almost 3 million tons.
The fishing industry complex is also developing dynamically. In 10 years, fishing enterprises increased their fish catch from 4.3 million tons to 5.4 million tons. Significant growth was noted in the aquaculture segment: commercial fish farming increased 2.1 times (from 188.5 thousand tons to 402 thousand tons).
The food industry is also growing in almost all areas. For example, the production of vegetable oil increased 2.5 times (from 3.9 million tonnes to 9.8 million tonnes), meat products – by 84% (from 5.3 million tonnes to 9.8 million tonnes), pasta – almost one and a half times (from 1.05 million tonnes to 1.5 million tonnes).
Russian cheese production is experiencing a real boom, which received a major boost after the introduction of the food embargo. Cheese production has almost doubled over the past 10 years (from 435,000 tonnes to 801,000 tonnes). In fact, a whole new industry was created during this time. Hundreds of artisanal production facilities with unique products have appeared across the country. Russian cheesemakers have learned not only to make Parmesan, Camembert and Buratta, but have also created many of their own new recipes, offering cheeses of the highest quality. Today there are more than 1,000 companies operating in Russia. According to the National Union of Milk Producers, almost 9,500 different types of this product are sold in online retail alone.
FEED YOURSELF AND THAT GUY
The dynamic development of the Russian agro-industrial complex was the result of systemic decisions taken by the state to protect and support Russian producers, as well as to stimulate specific areas. “For example, thanks to the fact that at one time we significantly increased sunflower production and reoriented its supply to the domestic market, our oil and fat industry took off. Today, our country more than doubles its sunflower oil needs and is the second largest supplier of these products in the world. Similar trends are observed in many other segments. In recent years, we have seen a significant influx of investments in the industry. Entrepreneurs see the level of support for this sector, the opportunity to make a lot of money in a promising and growing market, and they invest heavily in expanding and improving production efficiency,” said Oksana Lut.
Over the past 10 years, state support for the agricultural sector has increased significantly. The volume of funding for the activities of the State Programme for the Development of Agriculture increased 2.2 times, from 198.1 billion rubles in 2013 to 442.6 billion rubles last year.
Achieving self-sufficiency in many indicators made it possible to change the development model of the agro-industrial complex from import-substituting to export-oriented. In 2013, our country imported 2.5 times more food than it supplied to other countries. Moreover, since 2020, Russia has been a net exporter of food: exports exceed imports, and the gap between the indicators is growing every year. Thus, by the end of 2023, supplies to foreign markets were 24% higher than the volume of purchases from abroad.
In total, over 10 years, domestic agricultural exports increased 2.6 times and amounted to $43.5 billion at the end of last year, compared with $17.1 billion in 2013. Today Russia sends food to more than 160 countries and is the world leader in the supply of wheat, peas, barley, linseed oil, frozen fish, and occupies a leading position in sunflower oil and a number of other products.
“Today we need to take the next step in the development of the industry. According to the presidential decree of May, by 2030 we need to increase food production by a quarter and exports by one and a half times. To do this, in the next six years we need to focus on achieving technological sovereignty of the agro-industrial complex: accelerated development of breeding and genetics, biotechnology, production of veterinary medicines and many other areas,” stressed Oksana Lut.
The most important issue is to provide the industry with professional personnel. “We are now building a comprehensive system for their training, from schools where specialized agricultural classes are opened, through secondary vocational and higher education, and directly to employers. Thus, young people, even at the stage of choosing a profession, will see clear career prospects and ample opportunities for self-realization. At the same time, we are comprehensively developing the infrastructure of rural areas to provide people with comfortable conditions and a standard of living no worse than in large cities,” the head of the Ministry of Agriculture noted.
