Made in Russia | Agriculture

Agricultural products, food. In H1 of 2017, agriculture exports yielded more than $8.7 billion. This is $1.3 billion more than in the same period last year.

One of the reasons behind that upward trend is the grain yield, which has hit a post-Soviet record high. 120.7 million tons were harvested in 2016. More than a half of that amount is accounted for by wheat. Over a quarter of the wheat was exported (36.9 million tons). These are record-breaking results that provide for more diversified exports. With an unprecedented level of wheat yield, Russia also plans to sell macaroni products.

The growth of the agricultural sector will make it possible to build up exports in other traditional staples.

State support is one the reasons behind such an energetic growth of the agricultural sector. The Agricultural Products Export Project has started to gain traction. In essence, it is a set of measures that ensure that Russian products meet the requirements of targeted foreign markets. To obtain international certificates of quality, the products need to pass all the necessary procedures and tests.

The other reason is the development of logistic-related problems at the state level. For instance, the Russian Export Center in cooperation with RZD Logistics and Freight Village Vorsino launched two export routes from the Kaluga region to China, which makes possible to deliver Russian goods to Chinese consumers.

Apart from that, the Russian government initiated the creation of a strategic facility in the Primorsky region – a hub for both exports and imports. Agricultural products will be one of the main focal points in the work of that hub. This all actively facilitates the development of Russian agricultural products for exports, especially in the Asia-Pacific region.

Among the success stories of Russian export products, ice cream is the winner.

Russian-made ice cream enjoys increasing popularity across the world. 17,000 tons of the product were exported– in 2016. The Petroholod company is among the leaders, as its products can be easily found in the CIS countries, in Israel and China. China is the biggest customer – ice-cream exports there have increased five times, reaching as much as 4.2 million.

In general, Russian confectionary is rapidly advancing on the global market. For example, chocolates and candies are now exported to 40 countries around the world.

Candies produced by UNICONF (United Confectioners holding, which includes Krasny Oktyabr, Rot Front and Babayevsky brands) are traditionally well received in the CIS countries, and they have recently gained popularity in Australia, Iran and China. The KDV Group (Yashkino, Ozerskiy souvenir, Divo and other brands) exports its products to Asia and Europe, including the Czech Republic and Poland. And a new market has recently opened its doors: Mexico. In 2016, these companies exported 157,000 tons of confectionery worth $477 million.

Among other products, Russia also exports a considerable amount of canned goods, including vegetables, meat and fish.