Market analysis of nuts in Russia

Hazelnut production in Russia is a very promising niche, which is now almost unoccupied, many experts are sure. This is a rather complex area that requires significant long-term
investment. The planned yield, after the walnut grove reaches full capacity, is 3.00 tons per hectare in the gardens of the classical type, which is why not so much is laid in Russia.
walnut orchards - in recent years they have been planted in the North Caucasus and Kaliningrad. In general, the prospects for the production of nuts in Russia are very large: now Russia is highly dependent on their supplies
from abroad, but after the devaluation of the ruble, it became very expensive to import nuts. There is a particularly high demand for nuts from manufacturers of confectionery products, respectively, the increase in prices for them increases the cost of confectionery products. At the same time, in a number of regions there are quite suitable conditions for the production of hazelnuts.
The volume of walnut consumption in Russia is growing steadily: in 2020 it amounted to 45.2 thousand tons, more than doubling the level of 2015.
In the structure of consumption, a large part falls on walnuts.
The import of hazelnuts, according to the NEO Center, increased by 1.8 times over four years and amounted to 14.1 thousand tons in 2020. Key Suppliers:

- Azerbaijan (8.40 thousand tons),
- Turkey (3.40 thousand tons),
- Georgia (1.68 thousand tons).

In value terms, hazelnut imports increased from $53.00 million to $80.82 million. The main difficulty in the development of hazelnut production in Russia, which experts note, is associated with a long period of fruiting (five to seven years after planting seedlings). The main difficulty is that walnut crops begin to bear fruit only four or five years after planting, so without support from the state, investors' interest in increasing domestic walnut production will not increase significantly.
According to Rosstat, in 2020, the gross harvest of nut crops in Russia amounted to 20.60 thousand tons against 19.7 thousand tons in 2019. The leading nut producing regions are:

- Krasnodar Territory (5.50 thousand tons),
- Rostov region (3.60 thousand tons),
- Stavropol Territory (2.90 thousand tons).

Andrew K.