The authorities will discuss restrictions on the import of some seeds from unfriendly countries

In 2024 RUSSIAmay restrict the import from unfriendly countries of seeds of potatoes, wheat, SUGAR beets and other agricultural crops. The Ministry of Agriculture explains this by the interests of food safety,

The Ministry of Agriculture will submit to the subcommittee on customs and tariff regulation the issue of introducing quotas for the import of seeds of potatoes, sugar beets and a number of other agricultural crops from unfriendly countries. This was announced at a meeting of the operational headquarters of the Ministry of Agriculture on February 14, First Deputy Minister Oksana Lut, one of the participants in the meeting told RBC. The fact that the issue of quotas for imported seeds was discussed at a meeting in the Ministry of Agriculture was confirmed by RBC in one of the industry unions participating in it.

The Ministry of Agriculture confirmed that on February 17, the ministry plans to submit to the subcommittee on customs-tariff and non-tariff regulation the issue of regulating the import of seeds of certain types of agricultural crops from unfriendly countries in 2024.

The Ministry of Agriculture proposes to introduce restrictions on the import of seeds from a number of countries from January 1 to December 31, 2024. Quantitative restrictions will affect the seeds of the following crops: potatoes, wheat, rye, barley, corn, soybeans, rapeseed, sunflower and sugar beets, RBC said in the ministry. The volume of quotas, according to the participant of the meeting, has not yet been determined. The restrictions will not apply to goods that enter the Russian market from the countries of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU, which, in addition to Russia, includes Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan). The Ministry of Agriculture itself noted that they plan to flexibly regulate the volume of imported seeds and gradually reduce the volume of quotas.

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Why are quotas needed?

Import quotas will accelerate import substitution in the fundamental segment of agriculture and increase the level of food security in Russia, the Ministry of Agriculture is sure. “In the context of import restrictions that are imposed on Russia by unfriendly states for many types of products, stimulating domestic seed production is a key factor in ensuring food security,” the ministry told RBC.

According to the indicators approved in the Doctrine of Food Safety, the share of domestic seeds in the domestic market should be at least 75% - this figure has not yet been reached, noted in January 2023 the HEAD of the Ministry of Agriculture Dmitry Patrushev. Now the level of self-sufficiency in seeds of the main agricultural crops, according to the ministry, is 60.3%. The Russian agro-industrial complex is “very vulnerable” in a situation where the market is open to foreign selection, while “ready-made forms are imported into the country, and no one gives us parental forms,” the minister pointed out.

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The fact that the Ministry of Agriculture is preparing proposals for quoting seed imports became known in August 2022. Lut then explained the need for such a measure by the food security of the country: “We have always lived on foreign seeds. Even those suppliers who told us that they would never leave, they will receive some order from unfriendly countries, and 90% of the seeds are unfriendly countries. Therefore, given that this is an element of food security, we cannot afford this and will move to a system of quotas for the supply of imported seeds, gradually reducing quotas and realizing that we are closing ourselves in seeds.” To the greatest extent, Russia depends on the import of seeds of sugar beet, potatoes, corn and sunflower, Luth noted then, adding that the number of domestic breeders is small,

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Unlike many Western companies that limited operations on the Russian market after the start of a special military operation in Ukraine, the largest foreign seed suppliers continued to work in Russia. But in early February 2023, it became known that major foreign manufacturers of these products - Syngenta, Bayer, Nuseed - notified Russian customers about the suspension of accepting applications for the purchase of sunflower hybrids and revising prices. The producers explained the measures by restrictions on the import of seeds by the ROSSELKHOZNADZOR , but the Ministry of Agriculture indicated that work with foreign companies did not stop, and targeted restrictions concerned supplies from individual industries where products infected with one of the dangerous sunflower diseases were found.

What farmers say

The Russian Grain Union does not support the introduction of seed import quotas, as this may lead to a decrease in yields, Arkady Zlochevsky, President of the Russian Grain Union, told RBC. “In order to limit imports, we must first produce similar domestic seeds, otherwise we simply reduce the level of competition, which will lead to an increase in the price of domestic varietal seeds that are not bought because of their economic inefficiency,” the expert notes. For grain and oilseeds, Russia depends primarily on the supply of sunflower seeds - the share of imports, according to Zlochevsky, reaches 70%, as well as rapeseed and corn seeds (for both crops, the share of imports is about 60%): “This does not mean that we we cannot sow our domestic varietal seeds, but they lose competition to hybrids - the yield of hybrids is better, and deliveries are usually accompanied by technological consultations and a complex of protection for these seeds.” In traditional crops such as wheat and barley, Russian farmers can do without imported seeds, but for the production in Russia of some hybrids, such as rye, progenitors are needed, which are imported from abroad.

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The share of foreign sunflower seeds among Russian farmers is really high - more than 50% - and a significant part of the supply falls on unfriendly countries, says Mikhail Maltsev, executive DIRECTOR of the Oil and Fat Union of Russia. But RBC’s interlocutor considers the approach of the Ministry of Agriculture on the issue of regulating seed imports reasonable: “There should be some kind of quota, because no one has canceled the issue of stimulating the selection of domestic seeds and localizing the production of foreign breeders in Russia. We hope that a balanced approach will be applied, which will stimulate domestic selection and seed production, and on the other hand, preserve our capabilities for the production of marketable products,” the expert concludes.

Producers' demand for potato seeds is about 800,000 tons per year, of which Russia has recently imported an average of 10,000 tons from other countries, Tatyana Gubina, head of the Potato Union's apparatus, notes. “We plant mainly Russian potato seeds, but of different selection: we partially import the elite material that multiplies and serves as the basis for further crops,” the expert explains. Domestic breeders create new varieties, and the Potato Union is working to popularize them among market participants, but their development takes time. So far, there is no domestic selection in the amount that will completely replace imports, for example, from Germany, and there are no analogues in friendly countries, the expert points out. In particular, while there are no domestic varieties,

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“The Ministry of Agriculture demonstrates the firmness of its position on the issue of import substitution of seeds. I think the recent trick of several foreign suppliers who tried to blackmail Russian farmers only strengthened the regulator in the need for decisive action, ”Eduard Zernin, chairman of the board of the Union of Grain Exporters, told RBC. The fact that the issue of seed import quotas is resolved in advance will allow agricultural producers to prepare for the transition to domestic seeds and adapt their agricultural practices and technologies, Zernin added.