USDA/FAS GAIN report RS 6008
Russian Federation - Planting seeds, annual

HIGHLIGHTS

Although saved seeds continue to dominate the Russian seed market, the quality and use of imported seeds is rising. The value of imported seeds from all origins rose from $88.5 million in MY 2003/04 to $110.2 million in MY 2004/05, and Post forecasts a slight increase in imports in 2005/06. Imported seeds are most common in vertically integrated sectors and in the production of commodities fairly new to Russia. Russian research laboratories are also increasing seed imports, although these imports are generally not identified in customs data. On-going administrative reform in the Ministry of Agriculture continues to complicate inspection and registration of seeds in Russia.

Full report in PDF format: http://www.fas.usda.gov/gainfiles/200602/146176873.pdf