Russia's greenhouse vegetable production hits new high, achieving self-sufficiency and exporting to Europe

Russia's greenhouse vegetable production hits new high, achieving self-sufficiency and exporting to Europe
Moscow, January 16, 2025 - The latest data from the Russian Ministry of Agriculture show that the country's greenhouse vegetable production has achieved significant growth in the past few years, and the annual output is expected to reach 1.5 million tons in 2024, an increase of about 20% over previous years. Tons of tons, a record high. This growth is mainly due to the huge investment in greenhouse production in Russia in recent years, especially large-scale greenhouse construction projects in the Far Eastern Federal District.

According to the First Deputy Minister of Agriculture, Khatuov, there are currently 16 industrial greenhouse enterprises in the Far Eastern Federal Region, with an annual output of 18,000 tons of fresh vegetables, and another 15 greenhouses are under construction and planning. It is expected that by 2025, when these facilities are fully operational, the Far Eastern Federal District's vegetable production will reach 56,000 tons. Russia has made great progress in meeting the needs of the domestic market, especially in the production of common vegetables such as cucumbers and tomatoes.

Russia has a vast territory, with most of its regions located in frigid and temperate zones. The growing season for crops is short, and traditional agriculture faces many challenges. However, by developing modern greenhouse farms, Russia not only achieved self-sufficiency in vegetables, but also began to export to foreign markets. Russia's cucumber production increased from 392,000 tons in 2013 to 830,000 tons in 2023, while imports dropped significantly, from 224,000 tons in 2013 to about 45,000 tons in 2023, and the domestic market share has reached 95%. .

In addition, Russia's greenhouse cucumbers and tomatoes not only meet domestic demand, but have also successfully entered the European market, especially its ally Belarus and former enemies Ukraine and Poland. Thanks to low production costs, Russian vegetables are extremely competitive in the European market, with wholesale prices much lower than local European products.

In order to further promote the development of greenhouse agriculture, the Russian government has introduced a series of incentive policies, including the establishment of a national support system for greenhouse vegetable cultivation in the Far East. Information published on the Kremlin website shows that the government is working to create attractive investment conditions for the construction of greenhouse complexes in order to reduce product prices and increase market demand.

Analysts believe that the rapid growth in Russia's greenhouse vegetable production not only helps stabilize vegetable prices in the domestic market and avoid seasonal fluctuations, but also greatly enhances the country's competitiveness in international trade. The application of greenhouse technology has enabled Russia to transform from a vegetable importing country to a self-sufficient and exporting agricultural power in a short period of time.