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Agri-food self-sufficiency: Russia is progressing
Volumes of paste produced in Russia are increasing rapidly
Following investments carried out last year by Russia's main tomato processor APK Astrakhanskiy, aimed at increasing processing capacity in the southern parts of the country, it would seem, according to a report recently published by BusinessStat, that the volumes of paste produced in Russia were multiplied by 2.5 between 2013 and 2017, growing from 54 400 metric tonnes (mT) to 135 100 mT of finished products.
The writers of the report explain that "in 2011-2015, the production of tomato paste and puree increased by 63.4% from 32 000 to 52 300 tonnes. At this time in the country, tomato paste (raw material) was practically not produced. Domestic manufacturers preferred to import tomato paste concentrate in drums for further processing and packaging in smaller containers. In the stores, such products were sold under Russian trademarks."
Paste imported into Russia mostly comes from China (68%), Spain (7%), Portugal (5.5%), Chile (5%), Italy (5%), the USA and Iran.
But since 2013, the launch of several major projects in Astrakhan, one of the main tomato growing regions in the South of Russia, has led to a significant development of this sector.
In 2016, the South of Russia welcomed two new plants for tomato processing – APK Astrakhanskiy (in Zavolzhsky, Kharabalinsky district, Astrakhan region) and a plant run by the company “Ovoshi Yuga” (“Vegetables of the South”, in the republic of Kabardino-Balkaria). For 2016, the new installations respectively produced 7 000 and 8 000 tonnes of concentrated tomato paste. In 2017, their production volumes increased to 30 000 and 14 000 tonnes respectively.
In 2016, the South of Russia welcomed two new plants for tomato processing – APK Astrakhanskiy (in Zavolzhsky, Kharabalinsky district, Astrakhan region) and a plant run by the company “Ovoshi Yuga” (“Vegetables of the South”, in the republic of Kabardino-Balkaria). For 2016, the new installations respectively produced 7 000 and 8 000 tonnes of concentrated tomato paste. In 2017, their production volumes increased to 30 000 and 14 000 tonnes respectively.
The volumes processed in this context are reported to have replaced 22% of Russian imports in this category. Aleksandr Zhilkin, the governor of the Astrakhan Oblast, has announced that he aims to take this proportion to 40%: "This year, the third stage of the plant is scheduled to be put into operation, which will increase the tomato processing capacity by 1.7 times to 360 000 tonnes per year and raise the annual production of paste to 55 000 tonnes."
According to the IEGVu, investments carried out in 2016 for the amount of USD 100 million (RUB 6 billion) have resulted in the addition of a new production line that has taken the plant's industrial capacity to 3 500 tonnes of tomatoes per day and its annual production level to approximately 30 000 tonnes of paste.
This project was part of a Russian federal program aimed at replacing imports and therefore reducing Russia's dependency on products of foreign origin.
According to the forecast of BusinessStat, the production growth rate of tomato paste and puree in Russia will fluctuate from 25.1% in 2016 to 10.2% in 2020. In 2020, production will be about 115 000 mT, almost 2.2 times the result of 2015. Experts also estimate that production will reach 181 600 tonnes by 2022, exceeding the 2017 production by 34.4%. Thanks to the development of domestic production in 2016-2020, imports of tomato paste and sauce in Russia will decline by 6.7% a year. In 2020, they should amount to 92 000 tonnes, which is 37% less than the level in 2015. By the end of 2022, it is expected that imports will not exceed 96 800 tonnes, which is 19.8% less than the level of 2017.
Source: agro2b.ru, iegvu
