Russia to almost entirely meet domestic demand for corn seeds by 2025 - expert

MINERALNYE VODY. Sept 14 (Interfax) - Russia will be able to almost completely cover its corn seed needs by 2025, Igor Lobach, president of the National Association of Corn and Sunflower Seed Producers said at the MinvodyAGRO international agro-industrial exhibition in Mineralnye Vody on Wednesday.

"The demand for corn seeds in Russia is 85,000 tonnes per year. Hybrids of domestic selection in the current year occupy 20,000 hectares, from which at least 50,000 tonnes of seeds for the harvest in 2023 are expected. The area of seed plots of hybrids of foreign selection is 11,000 hectares, with expected production of 27,500 tonnes. As such, the shortfall of seeds for sowing in 2023 will be only 7,500 tonnes. Therefore, we do not see any problems with corn seeds in 2023," Lobach said.

The maximum area of hybridization of corn seeds of domestic selection in 2023 will be 31,400 hectares, the expert said.

"And if we sow what we planned in 2023, the shortfall will be even smaller. Seed production for the 2024 sowing season will already be 78,500 tonnes, that is, the deficit is almost 6,000 tonnes. And in 2024, we can predict a deficit of only 1,500 tonnes compared with total demand of 85,000 tonnes," Lobach said.

Russia is able to provide itself with seeds, he said.

"Even if all foreigners leave, we have the ability to cover all domestic demand for corn seeds, Russia will not find itself without seeds," he said.

The area under crop cultivation in the current year is 4.25 million hectares, Lobach said in his presentation.