With the volume of Russia's non-seasonal vegetable production reportedly having shot up by 18% over the last three years, greenhouse growers are now said to be eyeing the Chinese market for new opportunities. 

Unprecedented state support for agricultural projects and the produce import ban placed on a range on countries have made year-round greenhouses one of the country's fastest growing investment opportunities, according to local media Rbth.com.

The story said the Ministry of Agriculture had promised that 1,500 greenhouses would be built in Russia by 2020, which should almost cover the nation's entire demand for vegetables during the colder months.

This year, the Russian-Japanese company JGC Evergreen, which owns greenhouses near Khabarovsk in Russia’s Far East, sold its first harvest on the domestic market and announced plans to export to China.

"We will start selling our vegetables to the Chinese market in several years," general director Tomoyuki Igarashi  was quoted as saying.

He noted that cheap energy in Russia made the greenhouse business attractive and cost-efficient.

Another company, Technologies for Greenhouse Growth (TGG), is reported to be planning a move into the Chinese market.

TGG has already built greenhouse complexes around Moscow and the Tyumen Region and is currently involved in building another facility, according to the story.

Oleg Remyga, the director of the China Laboratory at the Skolkovo Research Institute for Developing Markets, reportedly thinks there is a chance for Russian vegetables to capture the Chinese market for eco-produce.

The Russian horticultural industry is said to use fewer pesticides and fertilizers than in China.

"The Chinese perceive Russian food, just like any foreign food, as ecologically clean products," Remyga was quoted as saying, but he noted that Russian producers would face high price competition from local producers, even with the weak ruble.

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