With more than 144 million inhabitants, the Russian Federation is in terms of the number of consumers the largest market for food and agricultural products in Europe. However, there are significant differences in quality and availability as well as in the price of food compared to Western countries, which leads to various perspectives for foreign companies.
The main reason for these differences are the continuing sanctions and the associated prohibition on imports of many European agricultural products and food. Accordingly, the Russian food and agricultural industry has been undergoing a major change for some time now. In order to meet the unbroken high demand in the best possible way, the two central keywords are, from the perspective of domestic producers, import substitution and from the perspective of foreign companies, localization.
The steady demand for high-quality basic food as well as niche products and specific foods is opening up numerous opportunities for foreign manufacturers to establish themselves on the Russian market.