Massive growth of Russian vegetable output

Russia’s Ministry of Agriculture has announced that greenhouse vegetable production is set to hit 1.3 million tons this year, vastly outstripping last year’s record crop (1.1 million tons). And this exponential growth is showing no sign of slowing down, with forecasts of reaching around 2 million tons within five years, thanks partly to sizeable government funding, which almost doubled last year to Rbs240 million. The country’s winter greenhouse production area climbed by over 10% to 2,500ha in 2018, with the strategic Stavropol Territory seeing a 5% increase in volumes to 290,500 tons. Average yields stood at 43kg/m2 in 2018, a rise of 26% cent over 2016. Meanwhile, in March, the first crop of cucumbers and tomatoes will be harvested at a new greenhouse in the Ryazan region just outside Moscow.