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Russia is one of the world's main suppliers of food in the world, as evidenced by the growth of exports: in 2022, it grew by 14% and exceeded $27.7 billion, according to the Customs Service of the Russian Federation.

The pandemic has led to thoughts about health. The main consumer trends in the food sector were studied by experts of the Packaging Gateway's research company, whose data was reviewed by the editorial board sfera.fm. The main trend is "health and well-being", that is, consumers have become more attentive to the content of the product, its composition, calorie content, and health effects.

Moscow food producers increased supplies by 7%

More than 250 enterprises represent the food industry in Moscow, the volume of shipped food has grown by more than 7% in six months. This was reported in the press service of the capital's complex of economic policy and property and land relations.

"The volume of food shipped by Moscow enterprises from January to June 2023 increased by 7.1% compared to the same period last year. Today, the food industry of the capital is represented by more than 250 enterprises employing over 60 thousand people. The total volume of food products shipped by Moscow manufacturers in the first six months of this year amounted to 291.8 billion rubles. At the same time, food production increased by 21.5% over the same period. This indicates the readiness of the capital's enterprises to develop new sales markets and the expectation of further growth in the volume of supplies," said Vladimir Efimov, Deputy Mayor of Moscow for Economic Policy and Property and Land Relations.

It is noted that the capital's manufacturers are actively filling the niches of the domestic market that were vacated after the departure of Western brands, and are increasing shipments not only to Moscow and the regions, but also abroad. Food enterprises actively use the city's systemic support: "Meat, fish, confectionery and many other types of products are produced in Moscow. The capital's enterprises are systematically increasing production volumes. So, during the period from January to June of this year, the production of meat products in the city increased by 44%, fish and seafood - by 21.8%, and confectionery - by 10.7%," said Vladislav Ovchinsky, head of the capital's Department of Investment and Industrial Policy.

For food manufacturers in Moscow, there is a wide range of anti-crisis support measures that have been developed for industry and the whole business as a whole.

In January-May 2023, the production of ice cream in Russia increased by 7.8 percent from the same period last year. This is reported in the report of the Milknews Analytical Center.

In exact figures, this amounted to 228,500 tons. The increase in the production of ice cream is connected not so much with the internal as with the external market. In particular, both former Union republics, including those from Central Asia (Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan), and from Southeast Asia (India, China, South Korea and Japan), and even Ukraine, are interested in it.

This product is popular in Armenia under the brands "Premier and Sadko". Such brands as Minsk Ice Cream and the already popular Savushkin Product are represented in Belarus. Despite the popularity of these brands for local production, products from Russian manufacturers are also produced under them. In Kazakhstan, this dessert is popular under the brands "House of Lollipops" and "Rosinka", in Ukraine – a wide range of ice cream under the brands "Category", "Dainty" and "Rainbow", there is a huge assortment in Kazakhstan.

Of the second group of countries, supplies to China began several years ago, when the quality of Russian ice cream was appreciated by President Xi Jinping, after which the unique taste and greater availability of Russian ice cream were also appreciated by other Asian countries.

Meanwhile, Russia's domestic consumption of dairy products in the first quarter of the year decreased by 4.6 percent to 134,100 tons. In this regard, its stocks in manufacturers' warehouses by the end of May increased by 22 percent from the same period last year, or to 55,300 tons. 

25 new fish processing plants have been built in Russia

Projects for the construction of 25 fish processing plants were implemented in Russia, which made it possible to increase the volume of output of highly processed products. This was announced by Deputy Head of the Federal Fisheries Agency Khasan Likhov at the Eastern Economic Forum.

“Of the 27 factories that were predicted, 25 factories have already been built and put into operation. They are operating successfully. In 2022, the production of highly processed products has already exceeded 30%. And over the past two years there has been a serious increase of 15%,” he said Likhov at the session "Ocean - the evolution of fishing and consumption."

He clarified that the increase in the indicator was also due to the work of   new enterprises.

Over five years production of frozen vegetables in Russia has almost doubled 

Interagro experts note the steady growth of two main areas of vegetable processing - canning and freezing.

According to the company’s research (available from Agroinvestor), over the past five years, production volumes of frozen vegetables have increased by 1.9 times, and canned vegetables by 37% to a record 797 million tons. The Fruit and Vegetable Union estimates that about 50% of the harvest is in Russia open ground vegetables are processed. 

According to Future Market Insights, the global frozen vegetable market will grow at an average annual rate of 5.6% until 2032. The reasons for this are the acceleration of urbanization and rising incomes in developing countries, a shift in consumer preferences towards “convenient” food products, and an increase in the number of consumers preferring vegan and healthy diets. At the end of 2022, the global market for frozen vegetables reached $32.4 billion. Corn is the most popular in this segment. 

According to Rosstat, although in 2018-2022 the volume of production of frozen vegetables in Russia increased by 1.9 times, at the end of 2022 there was a decrease in output by 18% due to a decrease in consumer demand. In Russia, the leading producer of frozen vegetables is Zapadny Cold Storage Plant, occupying more than 20% of the market volume. The company carries out a full cycle of vegetable processing and produces a wide range of products under the “4 Seasons” brand. In addition, the company is engaged in contract manufacturing for the Lenta and Dixie chains. Among other leaders in the production of frozen vegetables in Russia, Interagro highlighted TD Pokotorg, Trio-Invest, Belgorod Vegetables and Ortika Frozen Foods.

Competition with foreign manufacturers and the habit of home canning vegetables are holding back the development of this market segment, experts say.

The share of imports in canned vegetable resources in Russia is over 30%; the leaders in supplies are China and Spain. In 2022, a significant increase in the production of canned vegetables was recorded - by 26%. It is explained by a decrease in household incomes and a redistribution of consumer demand from more expensive product categories.

According to the study, quite active growth in the production of frozen vegetables in Russia, by an average of 13% per year, continues. It is due to the growth of consumer demand against the backdrop of an acceleration in the pace of life of the population, an increase in the income of the urban population, and the popularization of healthy eating.

At the same time, a significant share of imports remains in this segment of vegetable products, almost three times the production volume. According to Interagro, the share of imports in frozen vegetable resources in Russia at the end of 2021 amounted to more than 70%. According to experts, the development of frozen vegetable production in Russia is hampered by the lack of high-quality, reliable and financially affordable fluidization freezers.

Purees and pastes are one of the most promising areas of vegetable processing, experts noted. Thus, according to forecasts of the Market Research Future agency, in 2022-2030 the market of vegetable purees will increase annually by an average of 5.6%. In addition, against the background of the growing popularity of a healthy lifestyle, vegetable purees are more actively included in the daily diet. Consumers are trying to replace animal protein with vegetable protein, which also supports the demand for these products. According to Rosstat, in Russia, the volume of production of vegetable purees and pastes by the end of 2022 amounted to 735.3 million conventional cans, which is 5.6 times more than in 2018. The growth in relation to 2021 was 18%.

The experts of Interagro called the segment of dried vegetables and the production of finely dispersed natural food powder concentrates insufficiently developed. According to their estimates, there are several dozen producers of dried vegetable products in Russia. However, they do not form a market, as they produce goods in insufficient quantities and significantly differ in the range of products presented. The largest players in the dried products market are DRY-FOOD Group (Chuvashia), Feruza Line (Moscow) and TAV Group (Chuvashia). 

Export of agricultural raw materials and food from Russia

Exports of agricultural raw materials and food of all types from Russia in total to all countries of the world in 2022, according to the Federal Customs Service of the Russian Federation, reached 41.3 billion USD, which, according to AB-Center calculations, is by 14.8% (by 5.3 billion USD) exceeds the values of a year ago. The growth of exports in value terms in 2022 was largely facilitated by the record high level of food prices in recent years. 

Russian pork exports grew by 40% 

Russian exporters increased pork supplies to foreign markets by 35-40% in the first six months of 2023 compared to volumes in January-June 2022.

Total exports of pig products in the first half of the year increased by an estimated 35-40%, which is partly explained by the reduced base of the first half of last year. However, if current trends continue and in the absence of global shocks, exports of pig products reached 220-230 thousand tons in 2023 ($450 million in monetary terms). 

The main reason for the growth in pork exports is the improvement of conditions on the world market and the weakening of the national currency. Among the observed trends are the continued growth of pork supplies to Belarus, as well as the resumption of exports to Vietnam.

Thus, pork supplies to Belarus increased by 21% in 2023. Supplies to Vietnam almost doubled. There is also an increase in the share of meat in the supply structure. Pork meat now accounts for almost 75% of the supply volume, although 2-3 years ago the share of meat was only 2/3. The rest is by-products. This ensures not only an increase in supply volumes, but also an increase in their cost.

Growth in imports

Imports of all types of agricultural raw materials and food from all countries of the world in 2022, according to the Federal Customs Service of the Russian Federation, amounted to 35.7 billion USD, which is 4.9% (1.7 billion USD) more than in 2021.

In 2022, compared to 2021, according to AB-Center estimates, there was a decrease in supplies (in volume) of fruits and vegetables to Russia - if we talk about the total volumes for these product groups. When considering certain types of vegetables and fruits, for some of them there is an increase in supplies. In value terms, the import of fruits, potatoes and vegetables has increased slightly.

Import volumes decreased for such commodity groups as fish and seafood, meat and meat products, cocoa raw materials, milk and dairy products.

With regard to vegetable oils, there is a decrease in the import of palm (by 13.7%) and olive (by 11.6%) oils. At the same time, the supply of palm kernel oil (by 0.6%) and coconut oil (by 6.6%) increased.

In terms of value, the supply of all types of oils has increased, with the exception of olive oil. Thus, the cost of importing palm oil to Russia, despite the reduction in volumes, in the face of rising prices, increased by 11.3%. 

Sugar supplies to the Russian Federation have increased significantly. This was mainly due to an increase in imports from Brazil. In general, in 2022, in relation to 2021, sugar supplies to Russia (in volume) increased 4.2 times.

The volume of soybean meal imports to Russia by the end of 2022, compared to 2021, decreased by 19.1%.

Trends for the first half of 2023. In January-June 2023, in relation to the same period of 2022, according to AB-Center estimates, there was an increase in the volume of imports of fruits (as a commodity group as a whole, imports decreased by certain types), palm kernel and olive oils, fish and seafood, cocoa raw materials.

A decrease in supplies was observed in the import of potatoes and vegetables (as a commodity group in general, while, if we consider vegetables by type, the supply of tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, sweet peppers and zucchini increased), soybeans, soybean meal, palm oil, coconut oil, meat and meat products, sugar, milk and dairy products.

In value terms, imports of fruits, olive oil, fish and seafood, and cocoa raw materials increased. At the same time, the cost of supplies of potatoes and vegetables, soybeans, soybean meal, palm oil, palm kernel oil, coconut oil, meat and meat products, sugar, dairy products decreased.

Source: https://frozenproducts.ru/novosti/regions/moskovskieproizvoditeliproduktovpitaniyanarastilipostavkina7.html; https://frozenproducts.ru/novosti/market-today/vrossiiv2023goduzametnovyrosloproizvodstvomorozhenogo.html; https://frozenproducts.ru/novosti/market-today/vrossiipostroili25novyhrybopererabatyvayuschihzavodov.html; https://frozenproducts.ru/novosti/market-today/zapyatletproizvodstvozamorozhennyhovoscheyvrossiivyroslopochtivdvaraza.html; https://frozenproducts.ru/novosti/market-today/eksportrossiyskoysvininyvyrosna40.html; https://sfera.fm/articles/trendy/osnovnye-trendy-pishchevoi-promyshlennosti-2023-goda