The growth in revenue of the largest agricultural holdings is several times higher than the growth of the food industry and the food market

According to the INFOLine report, PepsiCo topped the ranking of the largest food companies in 2024 by revenue. The global holding managed to effectively change brands. In March 2022, the company stopped selling its flagship drinks Pepsi, 7Up, Mirinda and Mountain Dew in RUSSIA and launched the light energy drink Evervess and a version of the classic lemonade Frustyle instead. Thanks to the new brands, PepsiCo's revenue increased by 18% in 2024 and amounted to 359 billion rubles.

PepsiCo is followed by the EFKO Group in the ranking of the largest agricultural holdings. The group's revenue increased by 23%, to 344 billion rubles. The group is the Russian leader in the production of vegetable oil; the company processes 3.5 million tons of sunflower, soybeans and rapeseed at its oil extraction plants.

In Russia, there is a surplus of this type of product, the self-sufficiency of vegetable oil is 226.9%, which makes its EXPORT necessary to continue production. it is logical that the company's exports grew by 15%, 1% more than the growth of products for the consumer market. The prospects of EFKO and other vegetable oil producers in 2025 are associated with the return of profitability of production, which became unprofitable in the first quarter of the year due to the rise in sunflower prices by 66%, high duties and the strengthening of the ruble against the US DOLLAR . As a result, vegetable oil exports decreased by 27% in the first quarter.

The third, fourth and fifth positions in the ranking are occupied by Rusagro, KDV Group and Miratorg with revenue growth of 23.2%, 18% and 17%, respectively.

This year, the rating may undergo changes due to rapid growth in production at the Group of Agro-Industrial Enterprises (GAP) "Resource" of Viktor Nauruzov. The group has almost doubled the market and its main competitors in terms of growth rate; last year, the holding's revenue increased by 36%, to 268 billion rubles.

GAP Resurs remained the industry leader in terms of broiler MEAT production volume - 1.07 million tons in slaughter weight. Last year, Viktor Nauruzov brought his company into the top five largest owners of agricultural land, now the group's enterprises own 680 thousand hectares. The company has had a particularly successful start in the production of Ready-to-Cook and Ready-to-Eat products. These products are intended for quick cooking at home and at fast food establishments. Last year, the holding produced more than 170 thousand tons of such products, a production increase of 228.9%.

In the Russian Federation, due to fluctuations in the ruble exchange rate and business conditions, there is significant uncertainty regarding the profitability of certain types of products. For example, the export of vegetable oil and wheat has turned from profitable to unprofitable. In such situations, the natural solution is to expand the range of products as much as possible. Viktor Nauruzov's holding has already begun to supplement broiler production with the production of chicken eggs and the cultivation of lamb. The company has acquired capacities for maintaining up to 54 thousand adult livestock and up to 30 thousand young animals. Dairy production has increased threefold. With the purchase of Vladimirsky Standard and Tsaritsyno, GAP Resurs has become a major player in the sausage market.

The prospects of the agro-industrial segment depend on the growth of the population's income, conditions for exporting products and, naturally, weather conditions. Last year, the real income of Russians grew by 8.5%, which helped the domestic food market grow.  Exports of products in the segment grew by 15.9%. It is unlikely that a similar result will be repeated this year. The cold spring led to the mass death of fruit crop ovaries, and the drought almost halved the forecast for the grain harvest in the Rostov Region, one of the country's main breadbaskets. INFOLine experts also point to the growth of the cost price for the entire product line, dependence on imported materials and seeds, high cost of loans and a labor shortage of about 200 thousand people in the industry.