Russian tomato paste plant reported a shortage of tomato seeds
“The company’s problem arose in connection with the ban on the import of Dutch planting material to Russia. The ban was introduced by Rosselkhoznadzor at the end of November 2023 against the backdrop of the systematic detection of quarantine objects in seeds coming from the Netherlands,” the article says.
The share of Dutch tomato seeds at AIC Astrakhansky was 35%. This is exactly the quantity that is not enough for production, the director of the enterprise clarified. At the same time, there are no domestic seeds for the production of tomato paste in Russia on an industrial scale - planting material is imported from other countries, Zaitsev explained.
The National Union of Fruit and Vegetable Producers, in turn, predicts that the 2024 sowing campaign will take place as usual, the harvest will be plentiful and will be exported. According to Irina Murashova, a member of the board of the union, the Ministry of Agriculture is providing unprecedented assistance in obtaining vegetable seeds in the time required for sowing.
