It is known that Russia's acreage with commercial greenhouses experiences unprecedented growth. As a result of all the recent construction activities, the domestic Russian production has seen a 42% rise since the start of 2017. According to Alexander Tkachev, Russia's Minister of Agriculture, the growth of the glasshouse sector has not reached its zenith yet. "We are just gathering momentum", he said.
According to the latest data provided by Vostock Capital, Russia constructed a total of 166 ha with new greenhouses in 2016, against a 513 mln euro investment. This brought the total Russian production acreage to nearly 2300 hectares. About 600 hectares of this surface has been realized within the last five years. The expansion is mainly driven towards year-round production; 300 hectares of the recently built greenhouses have been equipped with supplemental lighting.
Vostock's experts estimate that in order to meet the Russian population’s growing demand for vegetables, the production must be increased with 1 mtpa over the next four years. "This provides room for an extra 2,000 hectares of greenhouses. The Russian Ministry of Agriculture therefore anticipates to build new and upgrade at least 160 ha of year-round producing greenhouses within 2017.
According to the Russian Ministry of Agriculture, the number of greenhouse projects to build new or modernise existing operations is exceeding 150. In order to highlight the potential, Vostock Capital shares a few details on current projects:
- One of the major projects is the project of the Renova Group. This group is involved in the construction of vegetable greenhouses in the regions of Sverdlovsk, Perm, Chuvashia and Komi. The company’s project stipulates the construction of commercial greenhouse facilities on a surface of 100-ha area and involves a 389 million euro investment.
- Other large projects is initiated by the Russian company 'Green House'. The group is ready to invest 46.5 million euro for the construction of a greenhouse complex in the Belgorod region. The area of the greenhouse facility is expected to a total of 108 ha by 2020.
- In the Krasnoyarsk Territory, ECO-Culture announced plans to build a 30-ha greenhouse complex with an investment of 83 million euro. The project commences the realisation of a wholesale distribution centre with a prepacking and packaging line. On a second location 25 hectare.
- Agroholding Suvorovsky (a branch of Volovsky group) has formed an agreement with the Government of the Tula region for the cooperation on a greenhouse investment worth 373 million euro.
- Agrokombinat Yuzhny, a large-scale greenhouse complex in Karachay-Cherkessia, is reconstructing and modernising their facilities. Currently the project is at its initial phase, but will result in a complete modernisation of 140 hectare.
Vostock Capital predicts that Russia will need a lot of help from parties to help them accomplish these projects and goals. "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. Hence, 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."
During the 2nd edition of the upcoming “Greenhouse Complexes Russia 2017” conference, held on 6 & 7 December in Moscow, these potential technologies and investment projects will be discussed.
The first edition of the forum in 2016 brought together 500+ representatives and stakeholders from major greenhouse complexes and agriholdings from Russia, CIS, Asia and Europe. As well as this, the event attracted investment initiators from across Russia, such as federal and regional ministries and agencies, equipment and technology manufacturers, top executives of retail chains and the food service space, as well as presidents of national unions and associations. The Forum includes a specialized exhibition to showcase innovative technologies to help develop the Russian greenhouse industry.
In the run-up to the International Forum and Exhibition “Greenhouse Complexes Russia 2017”, the analytical team of Vostock Capital has prepared a report on major investment projects for construction and modernisation of greenhouse complexes in Russia. A total of 250 experts – the decision-makers of agricultural holdings and greenhouse complexes, investors, suppliers of advanced technologies and equipment, representatives of regulatory and government authorities and others took part in the survey. Click here to request the full report.