Russia's Seeds: Self-Sufficiency with Weaknesses

Russia aims to become largely self-sufficient in seeds. In the future, farmers growing corn, sunflowers, or sugar beets in Russia will be expected to use primarily domestically bred seeds. The import quota for seeds from “unfriendly” states—that is, from countries that have imposed sanctions on Russia—will drop to 15,000 tons in 2026. In 2023, seed imports from these countries still stood at 73,300 tons, according to the Russian plant protection service Rosselkhoznadzor. According to the state food security doctrine, the share of domestic seeds is set to rise to 75% by 2030.   

German farmer Steffen Hauschild, who runs the Nekrasovo Pole Agropark in the Kaliningrad region, describes the consequences of this policy in a podcast by the German-Russian Chamber of Foreign Trade: “What is hitting farmers in Russia hard are the countermeasures taken by the Russian Federation. In other words, the fact that the Russian Federation has now taken countermeasures, for example regarding Western seeds. That actually hits us much harder than the EU sanctions.”

Market Size: Sown Area and Monetary Value

The Russian Ministry of Agriculture estimates a sowing area of 80.5 million hectares for 2025. More than 83.1 million hectares are planned for 2026. According to government figures, approximately 10 million tons of seeds are sown annually. The industry center of the state-owned agricultural bank Rosselkhozbank estimated the Russian seed market at the beginning of 2025 at around 150 billion rubles—about 1.7 billion euros at the current exchange rate. One of Russia’s largest agricultural holdings, AgroTerra, estimates the commercial seed market at 222 billion rubles, equivalent to 2.5 billion euros.

Germany operates on a different scale. The Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) reported a grain acreage of 5.86 million hectares for 2025, plus 1.1 million hectares of winter rapeseed, 1.94 million hectares of silage corn, and 131,700 hectares of vegetable cultivation. The Federal Plant Variety Office reports certified seed volumes of 744,400 tons for the 2024/25 crop year, of which 639,100 tons are cereals and corn, 74,400 tons of forage crops, and 25,600 tons of oil and fiber crops.

Russia’s seed market is physically about ten times larger than Germany’s, but roughly the same size in monetary terms. Russia distributes seed over significantly larger areas, while Germany relies on smaller quantities with a higher unit value.

Self-sufficiency is rising, but unevenly distributed

Russia’s import substitution in seeds has made measurable progress according to official figures, but varies greatly depending on the crop. According to government data, the share of domestic seeds will already reach 69% by 2025. By 2030, it is expected to be 75%. For grains and legumes, Russia is close to self-sufficiency. According to Rosselkhoznadzor, the share of domestic seeds for these crops is around 80%. For winter wheat, the figure is 93%, for spring wheat 87%, for spring barley 89%, and for winter barley 86%.

The situation is different for hybrid crops. In 2022, the Ministry of Agriculture reported a domestic share of 43.5% for soybeans, 30.6% for rapeseed, 23% for sunflowers, 6.7% for potatoes, and 1.8% for sugar beets. According to the Ministry, by 2025 this had risen to 65% for soybeans, 61% for rapeseed, and more than 50% for sunflowers. Sugar beets reached around 19%.

A look at the situation on the ground shows that this substitution is not working smoothly everywhere. Steffen Hauschild describes the situation as follows: “The Russian Federation has its own institutes that breed grain seeds, and for the core regions in Russia […] these are very, very good varieties. But for us here, with the significantly colder climate, with the harsher conditions, these varieties are completely unsuitable. We see a 20% drop in yields there.” Industry experts estimate the yield gap between domestic and Western seeds at 15% to 50%, depending on the crop. Those who rely on inferior seeds lose the profitability of their crops.

At the same time, a wave of small local garden breeders is emerging. They propagate seeds without investing in their own research and development. Industry sources say: It often remains unclear where parent lines and germplasm come from. Russian farmers buy the product without any guaranteed quality testing.

The sunflower is considered the most visible substitution segment, while the sugar beet is the most acute bottleneck. In the Krasnodar region, one of the most important growing regions, the share of domestic sugar beet seed in the 2026 planting season reached only 24%.

In 2025, the state variety testing commission Gossortkomissija added more than 1,000 new varieties and hybrids to the state register. More than 73% of applications for state variety testing came from domestic breeding programs. AgroTerra expects annual market growth of 8.3% for seeds by 2030.

Import Policy: Quotas, Audits, Origin Bans

Import policy is the central lever of Russia’s seed strategy. For 2025, the government set a total quota of 34,000 tons of seed from “unfriendly” countries. For 2026, this quota will drop to 15,000 tons. The following are permitted: 10,000 tons of seed potatoes, 1,900 tons of sugar beet seed, 2,000 tons of seed corn, 500 tons of high-oleic hybrid sunflower seeds, as well as smaller quantities of waxy corn and malting barley seeds.

For the top-selling crops, corn and sunflowers, imports have effectively been halted since 2025. The ban applies equally to hybrids, parental seed, and germplasm components. Only two niche segments are exempt: waxy corn and high-oleic sunflowers.

In addition, there are targeted bans on specific origins. At the end of 2024, Rosselchosnadsor prohibited the import of certain corn and sunflower seeds from Chile, Turkey, Hungary, and France. Since June 30, 2025, an import ban has been in effect for seed and planting material from the Netherlands, a traditionally significant supplier.

The most effective control mechanism for imports is Rosselchosnadsor’s audit of foreign laboratories. To date, not every EU country has undergone this process—an additional barrier to imports. The impact is evident in the figures. Seed imports fell from 73,300 tons in 2023 to around 30,000 tons in 2024 and 18,500 tons in 2025. In 2025, sunflower seed imports dropped to 525 tons, corn to 295 tons, and soybeans to 59 tons.

No major shortfall is expected in these segments for the 2026 planting season. Domestic producers have produced high volumes. In addition, there are significant imports from the CIS countries, primarily from Kazakhstan. Market observers estimate the share of gray imports at 20% to 25%. At the same time, the share of counterfeit seeds is growing significantly. Domestic exports remain small. Rosselkhoznadzor reported a volume of $137 million in 2025—ranking 32nd in the global market.

When Western seeds cost twice as much

The effects are also evident in prices. The market is divided into two blocs. In March 2026, Russian trade media reported a premium of around 70% for imported sunflower seeds compared to domestic goods. For imported corn, the price was about twice as high as that of the Russian competitor. In 2024, the premium for Western sunflower seeds was still between 20% and 30%. The difference has thus widened. Domestic producers have also raised their prices significantly. Industry sources report increases of 15% to 30% over the previous year’s levels.

Distribution is becoming centralized. According to its own figures, Ruseed sowed more than 1 million hectares with its own hybrids in 2025—over 10% of Russia’s sunflower acreage. Ekoniva-Semena sells in 74 regions and exports to 10 countries. Schelkovo Agrohim integrates crop protection, seeds, and consulting services. AgroTerra says it plans to test more than 500 corn and sunflower hybrids on approximately 20,000 hectares of its own land, with a production target of 70,000 tons.

Strict controls, but hardly any licensing fees

The Russian regulatory framework has been significantly tightened and digitized since 2022. At its core is Federal Law No. 454 on Seed Production, expanded by Law No. 499 at the end of 2024. The state platform FGIS “Semenovodstvo” (Seed Production) now requires traceability of origin and batches. A new version of the GOST 12036-2025 standard has been in effect since January 1, 2026; it mandates an additional composite sample during sampling to detect genetically modified organisms. For seed potatoes, the government now links the granting of subsidies to compliance with testing requirements. The system remains de facto GMO-free, i.e., free of genetically modified organisms.

In terms of collecting licensing fees, however, Russia lags behind. AgroTerra estimates the current volume of royalties in Russia at 250 to 300 million rubles—around 2.5 to 3.2 million euros per year. The rates are thus five to seven times lower than the international level. AgroTerra estimates the potential at 14.7 billion rubles for wheat alone, 3.8 billion for soybeans, and 3.6 billion for barley—a total of around 22 billion rubles, or approximately 230 million euros per year.

The Russian seed market is one of the most heavily regulated segments of the economy. Import quotas over the past three years have fundamentally shifted its structure. Russian farmers are losing access to high-quality seeds that could ensure higher yields. Industry experts view this as a burden on the overall economic situation.

Germany: Less Land, Higher Yields

Germany manages its seed market institutionally, not geopolitically. The Seed Trade Act defines seed as a consumer protection product. According to the Federal Plant Variety Office, a variety may only be marketed if it is listed in the German variety list or the joint EU catalog. The certification system links breeders, seed multiplication organizations, and distribution companies. The key political indicator is not the share of domestically selected varieties, but rather the so-called seed rotation—that is, how often farmers actually use new seed instead of their own saved seed. For cereals, German agriculture used 61% Z-seed (certified seed) in the 2023/24 marketing year, according to the German seed industry.

The productivity gap with Russia is significant. Destatis reported a German grain harvest of 45 million tons for 2025 and a yield of 75.5 decitonnes per hectare. Russia achieved 27.2 decitonnes per hectare in the 130-million-ton 2024 season—just over a third of the German level. Germany produced 4 million tons of winter rapeseed and 4.5 million tons of vegetables. The comparison is not complete due to differences in climate, crop rotation, and soil systems, but the trend is clear: Russia is mobilizing land, while Germany is maximizing yields.

Both countries are effectively GMO-free. In the EU, only the MON810 corn line is currently approved for cultivation; in Germany, according to the Federal Office for Consumer Protection and Food Safety, there is no approval for commercial cultivation. Russia regulates through bans and sampling, while Germany does so through the absence of national cultivation approvals. This article was prepared for the German-Russian Chamber of Foreign Trade.