In 2023, the Russian Federation harvested a record soybean harvest of 6.6 million tons. In the near future, the volume may increase to 7-8 million tons, according to the Ministry of Agriculture.
Soybeans today have become one of the crops that are most actively grown in Russia.
Among the reasons for this are the high margins of soybeans and high prices for them on the world market, as well as state support for farmers.
All this has led to the fact that over the past 10 years, the area under soybeans has more than doubled, from 1.5 million hectares to 3.5 million hectares.
According to the opinion of the Institute of Agricultural Market Studies, already this season the soybean harvest in Russia may increase to 6.85 million tons. This will completely close the issue related to self-sufficiency in this crop and building food security in relation to it.
In addition, the increase in harvest will increase the export potential of the Russian Federation; in many markets, for example, Chinese, this crop is in very high demand.
At the same time, soybean yield is also growing; this year it is planned that it will increase to 20 centners per hectare, which is higher than last year’s 19 centners per hectare.
In certain regions of the Russian Federation, for example, in the Central Federal District, the yield can even reach 25-26 centners per hectare.
Which regions are the leaders in soybean production?
The Amur region traditionally ranks first in the country; it produces about 66% of all Far Eastern soybeans and about 22% of the total volume of all soybeans produced in Russia.
This is explained precisely by the proximity of this region to China, the largest consumer of soybeans, since almost the entire crop is sold for export.
Also important soybean producers in Russia are the Kursk and Belgorod regions.
This year, the North Caucasus Federal District should show a significant increase in the area under this crop, where crops should increase by about 30%.
As for the Ural Federal District, the area under soybeans there should increase by approximately 27%.
Currently, important factors that prevent the cultivation of soybeans in the Russian Federation are, first of all, unfavorable climatic conditions.
They can be expressed, for example, in excess or lack of moisture, or in too high temperatures.
However, Russian breeders are successfully solving these problems.
For example, soybean varieties with a deep root system, resistant to drought, have been created, which have made it possible to cultivate it in the Volga region, Southern Urals and Western Siberia.
