The earth went under the seeds – Kommersant

A large manufacturer of roasted seeds and other snacks, Martin, is expanding its agricultural land portfolio. The structure of the co-owner of the company Harutyun Baboyan received control over the farm in the Saratov region, which can cultivate 12 thousand hectares. The deal will increase the supply of expensive specialty sunflowers, but growing the crop is risky and expensive.

The Agro-S agricultural firm, which owns the Panfilov SPK in the Saratov region, in April came under the control of the structure of the co-owner of the major snack producer Martin, Arutyun Baboyan, follows from the data of the Unified State Register of Legal Entities. In 2018, Vladislav Belyaev, who was then the general director of the SEC, said in a YouTube video that the farm cultivates about 12 thousand hectares of agricultural land. According to the Federal Accreditation Service, the SPK grows wheat, corn, soybeans, and sunflower. As follows from SPARK-Interfax, the agricultural company Agro-S was formerly owned by Sergei Surmenev, a former top manager of the Buket Group of Companies and an ex-deputy of the Saratov City Duma. In the offices of “Martin” and the SPK named after Panfilov, they did not answer Kommersant’s questions.

Martin already grows sunflower for snacks in southern Russia, according to the company’s HeadHunter profile. The size of farmland “Martin” does not disclose. According to Kommersant’s sources in the industry, it can be from 50 thousand to 100 thousand hectares, mainly in the south. The BEFL rating of the largest owners of agricultural land, which includes companies that control more than 100,000 hectares, does not include Martin. The agricultural holding of another large manufacturer of snacks KDV (brand Babkiny Semechki, etc.) cultivated 337 thousand hectares of land as of July 2022, ranking 13th in the BEFL rating.

The purchase of a farm with 12 thousand hectares in the Saratov region could cost Martin 480-960 million rubles. Based on Sovecon’s estimate, the average cost of agricultural land in the region is 40–80 thousand rubles. for 1 ha. Andrey Sizov, director of Sovecon, explains that the production of roasted sunflower seeds requires a special confectionery sunflower with larger seeds, and the purchased farm can be used for this crop. But new owners may need to expand their land bank to pay off their investment, he adds. Experts called an indicator of 30-50 thousand hectares optimal for the cluster.

Director General of the Institute for Agricultural Market Studies Dmitry Rylko notes that investments in agriculture to ensure the processing of their own crop raw materials often do not justify themselves, if we are not talking about perishable products. According to him, the yield of confectionery sunflower is lower than that of oilseeds, the culture is quite capricious, and besides, crops usually occupy 20–25% of the crop rotation. But confectionery sunflower costs significantly more than oilseed – 65 thousand rubles. against 24 thousand rubles. per ton, respectively, indicates the source of “Kommersant” in the industry.

According to the NielsenIQ retail audit, in April 2022-April 2023, retail sales of snacks in Russia decreased by 1.7% in physical terms and grew by 18.7% in money terms year-on-year. Most noticeably – by 9.3% in pieces – sales of chips decreased. In-kind sales of seeds during this period decreased by 0.8%, while cash sales increased by 17.1%. As analysts noted, demand in the snack category may shift to more affordable products. According to NielsenIQ, chips account for 41.9% of all cash-denominated snack sales, while seeds account for 22%.

Anatoly Kostyrev