Russia's Food Production Falls For The First Time In 15 Years

Rockets won't feed.

Russian food producers have reduced output for the first time since 2009 due to Russians' austerity on food.

As The Moscow Times writes, in January-September this year, food production fell by 0.6% year-on-year, while beverage production fell by 4.1%.

At the same time, the number of new investment projects in food production fell by 46% in the first 11 months of 2025. Investment activity in the food sector has actually rolled back to the level of 2013, the last year before the introduction of the food embargo - a ban on the import of certain types of agricultural products and products from countries that applied sanctions against Russia for the annexation of Crimea. At the same time, the credit burden on food industry companies has increased sharply.

According to Managing Partner of Agrotrend.ru Nikolai Lychev, food production in Russia is declining due to general problems in the economy: a shortage of labor resources, accelerating inflation, rising accounts payable, high key rate, as well as the transition of Russians to a savings model of behavior.

"More and more often buyers refuse products for pleasure (kebabs, meat and cheese delicacies, etc.), choosing more simple food," the edition quotes Lychev.

According to him, Russians switch to buying products only on promotions and start going to discounters in search of a better price. At the same time, the average check in grocery stores for the first nine months of 2025 increased by 9% - actually by the inflation rate. Lychev added that this also indicates a decline in purchasing activity.

There are many families in Russia who spend the lion's share of their earnings on food, reminded the expert of the Stolypin Institute for Growth Economics Oleg Nikolaev. According to SberIndex data, in 2024, in every tenth municipal district of the country, food accounted for at least half of residents' expenses.

"This clearly demonstrates the scale of poverty," Nikolaev emphasized.

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