According to the latest data, Russia continues to actively substituting imports in the seed sector, with economic factors becoming a key driver of this process.
Russian sunflower and corn hybrids are significantly more affordable than their foreign counterparts with comparable yields, experts note.
As a result, the share of domestically produced products is rapidly growing, while the share of foreign-produced seeds used by farmers is declining.
It is important to emphasize that this trend is typical for virtually all crops.
For example, the average cost of domestically produced sunflower seeds currently stands at 17,000 rubles per seeding unit, while imported seeds cost farmers 29,000 rubles. As we can see, the difference is quite significant, exceeding 70%.
Given this, it is not surprising that farmers are actively opting for domestically bred seeds.
An even more telling situation has developed in the corn market: foreign hybrids are 2-2.5 times more expensive than Russian ones.
Experts note that the current prices for foreign seeds can be described as «prohibitive.»
Therefore, there is virtually no doubt that Russian seeds will continue to gain popularity among farmers, while imported ones, on the contrary, will continue to decline.
It is important to note that the price gap is formed not so much by differences in quality or yield potential, but by external factors. Among these, exchange rates and logistics costs are particularly noteworthy.
Furthermore, some producers factor a significant «brand premium» into the price of their seeds.
However, when looking solely at seed characteristics such as germination and yield, as well as resistance to adverse environmental factors, Russian seeds are almost always no worse than foreign ones.
Thus, experts note that Russian farmers have virtually no reason to choose foreign seeds over Russian ones.
Currently, we are already seeing that the share of domestic sunflower seeds used by farmers has reached almost 59%, and for corn, 60%.
Sugar beet has seen the most impressive growth: in just one year, the share of Russian seeds in this crop has increased from 8% to 24%.
Rapeseed, meanwhile, has increased from 34% to 68%.
These figures are expected to continue to grow.
