Russian greenhouse construction boom

Yes, Russia is a huge country and a massive agricultural producer. But did you know just 13% of its total land mass is suitable for farming? With fruit and vegetables ranking highly on the nation’s import substation list, getting access to key commodities is tricky. After all, you can’t just grow anything in Russia, can you?

Well, thanks to a spate of nationwide greenhouse construction, it seems like you can. Russian agriculture is thriving under the import ban. And, with greenhousing entering a fresh expansion phase, a space for agriculture technology and equipment suppliers to grow their leads in Russia has been created too.

Hundreds of hectares of new greenhouse space built across Russia

Russia’s agricultural players were busy in 2016. And the latest data from Russian consultancy firm Vostock Capital shows just how busy they were – at least when it came to new greenhouse projects.
 
2016 saw 166 hectares of new production space get put into operation across the country. $586 million worth of investment was pumped into construction of these new cultivation centres. Russia now has a grand total of 2,300 hectares of greenhouse facilities to play with. 600 hectares of this was built in just the last five years.

Has this paid off? According to Vostock Capital, vegetable production has risen 42% since the start of 2017. Much of this is due to the fact that Russia can now boast a year-round production cycle – even in the Arctic Circle. As much as 300 hectares of recently erected greenhouse have been equipped with supplemental lighting and heating apparatus, keeping growing going 24/7, regardless of temperatures.

Alexander Tkachev, Russian Minister of Agriculture, says this sector’s zenith isn’t even close to being reached. “We are just gathering momentum,” he said earlier in 2017. Demand for quality, affordable agriproducts is high amongst Russia’s 144 million consumers – something the government is acutely aware of.

In order to meet demand, as much as 2,000 hectares of new sites will have to be built by at least 2020. For producers of the relevant technologies, machinery, and equipment, that’s a very good thing. It means the need for your products and services is expected to remain strong in the coming years – so start cultivating your business leads now.

“Despite the volume of projects and the private and public investors’ interest and commitment, Russian greenhouse technology developers are incapable of meeting the customers’ needs. They have a hard time to keep up with the industry's growth,” Vostock Capital said. “Project initiators want to cooperate with international greenhouse and horticulture experts from countries such as the Netherlands, Israel, Germany, Italy, and other leaders of the greenhouse industry and rely on their expertise and competence."

2017: a strong year for Russian greenhouse construction?

The Russian Ministry of Agriculture has committed to building, or modernising, 160 hectares of greenhouse facilities in 2017 alone – ensuring a steady supply of procurement contracts for technology manufacturers to exploit. 

Let’s take a look at some of the biggest projects ready to roll out across Russia in the next 12 month. These represent hundreds of millions of dollars of capital investment – and signal the agriculture sector’s need to modernise and expand.

• Renova Group – The Renova group is powering ahead with a clutch of building projects across Russia. It is readying $444 million for the construction of 100 hectares of commercial greenhouse sites in Perm, Sverdlovsk, Komi, and Chuvashia.
• Agroculture Group – Earlier in the year, the Agroculture Group entered the third phase of work on a 30 hectare site in Kashira. This farm, which has enjoyed $121 million in investment, is to hold an output capacity 24,000 tons of produce a year.
• Agroholding Suvorovsky – In June 2017, Agroholding Suvorovsky signed an agreement with the Tula region’s government to begin building greenhouses there. Total planned investment? $426 million.
• Green House – Aptly named for this kind of agriculture, the Green House group is splashing cash on a new complex in Belgorod. The area of the facility is expected to cover 180 hectares by 2020, and cost the Green House group somewhere in the region of $53.1 million.
• Eco-Culture – Krasnoyarsk is to receive a new greenhousing centre in the near future, courtesy of Eco-Culture. Under the $83 million price tag comes not just a greenhouse, but a wholesale distribution and packaging facility too. In total, Eco-Culture’s latest complex would cover 55 hectares.

2,000 hectares has to be covered before Russia can cater for domestic fruit and vegetable demand – and this demand is already attracting international attention.

Sjaak Van Der Tak, the Mayor of the Westland Municipality in The Netherlands, has already expressed his new trade philosophy.

Speaking at the VegCult conference in Moscow in May 2017, Mr Van Der Tak said: “Today agriculture industry is based on environmentally safe production, resource management, recording of indicators. Harvesting, packaging and delivery have the same importance as the conditions of production. We are ready for cooperation with Russia in the field of technologies to let us produce high quality products.”

At the event, international businesses inked cooperation agreements with Moscow firms worth $230 million to begin construction of new greenhouses and production sites. It just goes to show the high demand, and big levels of investment, being thrown into this sector.

Connect with Russia’s agricultural industry at YugAgro

International cultivation and greenhouse technology supplier? Looking to expand your efforts into the world’s strong agricultural sectors? You should be at YugAgro 2017.
 
YugAgro is the largest international tradeshow in Russia dedicated to agricultural machinery, equipment and materials for agricultural production. It’s an effective tool for promoting your products in front of thousands of agribusiness professionals across Russia.
 
YugAgro visitors represent agricultural businesses from leading Russian agrarian regions and include agroholdings, private farmers, processing plants, grain companies, etc. Most of visitors are decision-makers.

Need more info? Contact us today.

 

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