According to the Federal Customs Service of the Russian Federation, deliveries of corn seeds to Russia are growing from year to year.
For example, in 2020, imports amounted to 33.7 thousand tons of corn seeds.
This is 27% more than in 2019.
At the same time, in the first half of 2021, about 9% less seeds were imported than in the same period last year.
And over the past 5 years, seed imports have decreased by 13.2%. But if we take a larger scale, then it grows steadily. For example, over 10 years it has grown by 103%, over 20 years — by 282%.
The top 10 suppliers who import corn seeds in the Russian Federation are as follows:
Hungary.
France.
Romania.
Serbia.
Austria.
Turkey.
Germany.
Slovakia.
Chile.
Georgia.
At the same time, high-quality seeds are absolutely essential in order to harvest large yields.
And in this direction Russia is also moving forward. For example, as of December 9, the country harvested 15.9 million tons of corn for grain. This is significantly more than a year earlier: 13.9 million tons.
How do hybrid seeds help increase yields?
As Nikolay Gazarov, director of the Kuban Seed Production Association, noted, the import of the best seeds from abroad is absolutely necessary for Russian farmers.
Currently, the country produces up to 70% of corn for grain, 30% for silage. In both cases, it is required to achieve certain quality indicators.
For example, corn for silage should have a large green mass. Today, dairy farming is finally reviving in Russia, and corn for silage is again becoming in demand.
Buying hybrid varieties can significantly improve your results.
Foreign breeders were able to offer drought-resistant varieties to the southern regions, and those that are not afraid of the cold and actively release moisture to the northern regions.
In general, in the Russian Federation, the first selective corn seeds began to appear in the 2000s, and at the same time the cultivation of this crop in the country reached a new level.
At the same time, Russia is slowly but surely moving to import substitution in this matter.
“Foreign breeding occupies 55-60% of the market. But, there are a number of companies in Russian breeding that started their activities 15 years ago and maintain a good level of their hybrids on the market.
Moreover, there are corn hybrids that compete well with advanced foreign ones. Moreover, they have a lower price segment. That is, if we talk about the profitability of production and economy, then, of course, domestic hybrids are more profitable, ”says Nikolai Gazarov.
