Russians want to set up their own seed potato sector

The Russian potato market is starting to recover. According to the Statistical Office of Russia, potato prices have been rising steadily since October 2020. The price on the first 10 days of March 2021 is 150% higher than the same period last year. The agency expects this to rise further towards 18 rubles (€0,20) per kilo. This also means that interest among arable farmers in potato cultivation is increasing again.

The price fall on the Russian market was largely caused by a record harvest in 2019 that caused oversupply. Unlike in the EU, the area in Russia shrank significantly by 2020% in 8 compared to 2019. Russian potato growers have had to deal with low prices for 3 years in a row. Many arable farmers expanded the area of ​​grain and oilseeds in 2020 at the expense of potato cultivation. Now that prices on the Russian potato market are picking up, interest in the cultivation is increasing again among arable farmers.

No seed potatoes available
However, Russian growers are having difficulties importing seed potatoes this year. This problem mainly affects varieties grown for the processing industry. In 2019, 41% of the seed potatoes imported by Russia came from the Netherlands. In 2020, the share of Dutch seed potatoes was even 4.000%, at approximately 50 tons. This year, hardly any seed potatoes have been imported due to logistical problems, while growers in the southern parts of Russia have already started planting.

The Russians hardly have their own varieties suitable for French fries and are therefore very dependent on the import of foreign seed potatoes. Various players in the Russian potato chain want to reduce this dependence by setting up their own seed potato sector. Until now, such initiatives have failed because they encountered bureaucratic barriers. This time the government is also involved in the process. In May 2021, the Russian government will consider plans for the development and production of Russian chip potato seed potatoes.