The Ministry of Agriculture assessed the growth potential of hop production in Russia

Hop production in Russia has the potential to increase more than sevenfold to 2 thousand tons by 2060. This was stated by Deputy Minister of Agriculture of the Russian Federation Andrey Razin at the Izvestia press center at a press conference dedicated to the launch of the Russian Beer Days campaign.

"We see that we have the potential to increase production volumes to 2 thousand tons by the year 60. That is, we have almost more than seven times the potential," he said.

According to the deputy minister, government support measures are already in place in the industry, including programs for planting and caring for perennial plants. Hops are included in the category of crops to which these mechanisms apply.

Razin stressed that the regions independently determine the priority areas of development and can direct support to both horticulture and hop growing. At the same time, the share of hops in the total volume of state support remains insignificant — about 1%. He added that the further development of the industry will depend on the interest of regions and investors.

You can't sow, you can't reap: rising fertilizer prices may affect crops

Farmers are asking the Ministry of Agriculture to return export duties and introduce quotas for the domestic market.

Russian Agriculture Minister Oksana Lut said on April 20 that prices for nitrogen-containing fertilizers, like gas prices, are at a stable level in Russia, so the agricultural industry is growing. She added that since the beginning of the year, the volume of food production has been growing, although last year the bulk of the growth was in agricultural products. According to her, Russian exports to partner countries have exceeded $40 billion in recent years.