By 2030, Russia may take up to 15% of the world market of plant products

World experts estimate that by 2030 the volume of the global market for plant-based products can grow to $140-220 billion. RUSSIA can take from 10% to 15% of the market in this segment, Finmarket writes with reference to a statement by the executive DIRECTOR of the Union of Product Manufacturers plant-based Valeria Rodina. According to her, this is due to the agro-climatic conditions of the country, the development of foodtech technologies, as well as the growing demand for plant products.

According to Rodina, such products have significant EXPORT potential and in the future are able to increase the volume of exports of the Russian agro-industrial complex, increasing the efficiency of the implementation of the national project "International Cooperation and Export". We are talking, in particular, about plant-based "milk", "meat" on a plant-based basis, vegetable-based "sausages and sausages", alternatives to fermented MILK products on a plant-based basis, and so on, specifies "Finmarket". The range of these products, according to Rodina, is constantly expanding, and demand is increasing not only within the country, but also abroad.

According to Rodina, a significant part of the market is occupied by companies that specialize in the production of vegan and healthy lifestyle products. Large agricultural holdings are also beginning to diversify their business, expanding the range with plant products, as there is high consumer demand - new trends for conscious consumption are being formed, Rodina noted.

Against this background, the union of producers of plant-based products turned to the Ministry of Economic Development with a request to expand the classifier of the commodity nomenclature of foreign economic activity of the Eurasian Economic Union. The Union considers it necessary to create a new subheading for plant-based products that do not contain ingredients of animal origin. In addition, the union proposes to correct the EAEU TN VED code for plant-based products, Finmarket reports. These include, in particular, animal-free MEAT, fish, egg, dairy, fermented and fermented products, cheese products, as well as plant-based ice creams and sauces. The union also proposes to introduce this measure for plant-based drinks.

The priority markets for such products are, first of all, the countries of Asia, where there are sustainable food traditions for the consumption of plant products, as well as the countries of Europe and America, where the trend for a healthy diet is actively developing and a request is being formed to expand the range of vegan products, writes Finmarket with reference to the motherland.

Russia's share in world food trade in 2020 was 1.9%, which coincides with its share in the global economy (average level of 1.9% for 2015-2020), as well as its share in the global population, says Darya, HEAD of the Center for Economic Forecasting at Gazprombank Snitko. Even in oil and gas exports, Russia's share is no higher than 5% of the global one, the expert noted. “The production of vegetable substitutes for animal products is a modern and very technological business. It seems too ambitious forecast that Russia in this market will overtake and overtake all those countries where production technologies originated and have been successfully developing for many years, - said Snitko. “In addition, to achieve such figures, the share of substitutes in the structure of food consumption in Russia will have to be an order of magnitude higher than the world average.”

Aleksey Ivanov, coordinator of the Eat Better project, said that in 2020, according to Deloitte, the volume of the Russian market for alternatives to meat and dairy products amounted to about 9 billion rubles. or $125 million ($35 million for plant-based “meat” and $89 million for plant-based “milk”). To achieve forecast values ​​of 10-15% of $140 billion, the average annual growth rate over the next 10 years should be in the range of 60-70%, he estimated.

At the same time, according to Nielsen IQ, the growth in sales of vegetable "milk" - the most popular alternative product - from May 2018 to April 2019 amounted to 253% in monetary terms, Ivanov cited the data. From June 2019 to May 2020, the growth was 44%, and from June 2020 to May 2021 - 25%. “This suggests that current capacities are not yet enough for rapid growth by 2030,” he said.

Nestle expects food prices to continue rising in 2022 

According to Ivanov, the arrival of large manufacturers in this area can change the situation, which has been observed in the past two years, but so far on an insufficient scale for a significant increase in the share of alternatives in the Russian market. Investments in food tech projects and improvement of infrastructure are also important, Ivanov believes. “In addition to alternatives to meat and dairy products, there are big opportunities in the almost untapped market for alternatives to fish and eggs,” he continues. “Also, in the coming years, the production of cultivated “meat”, which is still at the R&D stage, as well as alternatives obtained by fermentation, will become much more relevant.”