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Debut of the First Russian Yearbook “Global Food Security and International Agricultural Products Trade 2022/23”

On July 24, 2023, Moscow hosted the presentation of the World food security and international agricultural products trade 2022/23 report prepared by the Ministry of Agriculture of Russia, Agroexport Federal center and MGIMO. The report is published within the “Priority 2030” state program’s framework and it is the first expert analysis product to offer a general overview of the situation and current trends in global agricultural markets and the role of Russia.

Over 100 experts from 17 countries have partaken in the project — top executives of Russian and foreign agro companies, industry unions and associations, heads of state bodies, scientific, analytical and consulting organizations. The Yearbook features the main trends and factors in agricultural industry’s across 6 macro-regions of the world, as well as 7 key types of agricultural products. Rosselkhozbank JSC, OZK JSC, Syngenta Group and UCC Uralchem JSC partnered the publication.

The presentation of the Yearbook was moderated by Dmitry Krasnov, Head of Agroexport.

Sergey Levin, Deputy Minister of Agriculture, described the report as Russia's leading analytical publication on the global food market. The Deputy Minister expressed confidence, that the Yearbook will be in demand not only among professionals, but also among anyone interested in the global agricultural markets. The collected information leaves room for analysis and interpretation, allowing each reader to form his or her own picture of the current development of the global agri-food market based on facts.

Anatoly Torkunov, Rector of MGIMO, Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences, emphasized, that foreign economic activity has always been the most important area of the university’s activity. He recalled, that the Russian Ministry of Agriculture and MGIMO are currently implementing a joint project “Institute of World Agrarian Markets”. “I am grateful to Agroexport for partaking in all of our projects. The Yearbook is a serious breakthrough, and I am sure it will become a part of life for our large team of agricultural producers”, — noted Torkunov.

According to Irina Zhachkina, First Deputy Chairman of Rosselkhozbank’s Board, the bank strives to be more, than just a financial institution for agrarians by participating in various research projects aimed at support and development of the domestic agriculture industry. “Together with our clients, we have evolved from providing for the country’s own needs within the food security framework, to the stage, when we simultaneously feed the entire population of our country and have become exporters. Zhachkina is certain: “Put one foot in front of the other, and at the rate at which the volume of exports has been growing in the last 3 years, there is only a short distance left to become one of the top ten exporters”.

Russia has been a leader in wheat exports for several seasons now. That said, on the one hand, grain is a basic product necessary for ensuring food security, and on the other hand, it is an exchange commodity, said Ksenia Bolomatova, Deputy CEO at OZK: “It is hard to think of a more complex economic substance. In this regard, we could not, but welcome the idea of the Ministry of Agriculture and Agroexport to create the Yearbook: it is necessary to constantly study trends, and only such projects can provide in-depth analysis. I hope, that the Yearbook will be translated into other languages, read, referred to, relied on and used to develop long-term strategies abroad”.

Evgenia Serova, Director of Agrarian Policy at the Institute of Agrarian Studies of the National Research University Higher School of Economics, recalled, that there is a number of annual analytical publications issued by foreign or international organizations. However, many of them are ideology-driven. The Yearbook is an intellectual product that provides objective information for market participants and contains unbiased analytics. According to her, risk is the main factor that determines market dynamics nowadays and it is essential to recognise them, adapt and develop accordingly.

One of the main topics of the Yearbook “Global food security and international agricultural products trade 2022/23” is the subject of sustainable development of the global and Russian agricultural industry. “Traditionally, sustainable development in agriculture is associated with the problem of emissions, which primarily arises in livestock production. However, a very important topic is the possibility of carbon capture through cultivation technologies. Agriculture is not only a source of greenhouse gases, but also has a huge potential for absorbing them”, — Andrei Sharonov, CEO of the National Alliance for Sustainable Development pointed out. In addition, the ESG agenda includes a social component, which among other things is to ensure food security. Natalia Koroi, General Director of Fat&Oil Business Unit at Rusagro, spoke about the implementation of ESG standards, which allow the company to enter new markets and be the best for its clients, consumers and employees.

A large number of cases in the Yearbook is devoted to organic agriculture. According to Maxim Protasov, head of ANO “Rossiyskaya sistema kachestva”, the global organic market is estimated at 125-127 bln. euros and is growing annually by 6-9%. “However, the rate at which the amount of organic land is increasing is much lower, than the rate of consumption. It’s forecasted, that by 2030 the deficit of land using organic technologies, in terms of meeting the demand will be about 14 million hectares”, — Protasov emphasized. Russia has a substantial potential to increase production and exports, first of all of grain and fodder organic crops, and wild harvest as well.

Sergey Yushin, Head of the National Meat Association, underscored the role of modern Russia in ensuring global food security. The country has already joined the ranks of major meat exporters and has great ambitions to increase its share. At the same time, food supplies in the modern world are becoming one of the elements of diplomacy, and Russia needs to learn from this.

Export is a driver of development for manufacturers themselves, continued Konstantin Korneev, Executive Director of Rincon Management: “By engaging in exports, companies make themselves more investment appealing, generate new money supply and, most importantly, ensure good profitability.”

Rinat Gizatulin, Deputy General Director of UCC Uralchem, and Sergey Ivanov, Executive Director of EFKO, devoted their speeches to the prospects of the alternative proteins market. Accordingly, Sergey Ivanov expressed the necessity for developing domestic innovative technologies, which will not only ensure sustainable food production within the country, but will also allow us to conquer the global markets.

Stefan Durr, President of EkoNiva, shared data on the import substitution in seed farming, as well as stock breeding. The speakers of the event were also Artem Malgin, Vice-Rector for Development at MGIMO, Oleg Remyga, Professor of Practice at the Moscow School of Management Skolkovo, and Mikhail Magrilov, General Director of Trust Technologies - Consulting. Stefan Durr, President of EkoNiva, shared data on import substitution in seed production, as well as breeding work. The speakers of the event also included Artem Malgin, Vice-Rector for Development at MGIMO, Oleg Remyga, Professor of Practice at the Moscow School of Management Skolkovo, and Mikhail Magrilov, CEO of Technologies of Trust — Advisory.

The report will be issued annually in two formats — printed and electronic. The full version of the first report is available on the project website — https://agrimarkets.report/.