Astrakhan: tomato processing on the rise

According to local press sources (29/11), the APK Astrakhan company increased its production of tomato pastes by 24% this year, and processed 350 000 tonnes of tomato during the last season. On a broader level, the business activity of the fourteen vegetable processing companies in the Astrakhan region increased 16% in 2019 compared to 2018.

1.54 USD or 1.34 Euro for 490 g

APK products are available throughout the Russian market. The company is now planning to start exporting tomato pastes, as part of a development plan that includes the installation of a new plant in the Enotaevsky district. This project to build a site similar to the one already set up in Zavolzhsky, Kharabali district, was announced almost two years ago, but it encountered problems of various kinds, some of which were linked to the use of the land needed for construction, and others to difficulties in recruiting qualified personnel in the region, according to a recent statement by the Director General of the Astrakhan Agricultural Complex, Isa Dakaev.

The existing Zavolzhsky plant was commissioned in autumn 2016; 40 000 tonnes of tomatoes were processed in the first year, producing 7 200 tonnes of paste. In 2017, a second phase was launched, which doubled the capacity to 3 000 tonnes per day, for an annual production of about 30 000 tonnes of paste. The site only provides products in industrial packaging (drums of 225 kg approximately), which are used by customers for the preparation of ketchup and juice.

The plant currently supplies a number of large national and international food companies located in Russia (Tehada, Heinz, Unilever, Coca-Cola) and has clearly announced its intention to rapidly supply 70% of the Russian paste market, which is still largely supplied by products of Chinese, Italian, US and Iranian origin, among others. However, the installed capacity is insufficient for the planned development prospects, and the regional Duma (the local parliament) validated in mid-November the much awaited decision to construct a second plant in the district of Enotaevsky.

This investment, which is estimated at about 6 billion rubles (USD 93.5 million) for this third phase, will be supported by the APK Astrakhan company and should lead to the installation of an annual paste production capacity of some 50 000 tonnes. As in the case of the agro-industrial complex of Kharabali, tomato crop production will be organized locally, on plots of land that have already been identified. Planted surfaces will cover approximately 7 000 hectares.