Confectionery: Russian Consumers Are Looking for Greater Variety 2006

7 April 2006 - Annual confectionery sales in Russia exceeded $3.5 billion in 2005 and can be considered one of the biggest markets in the world. Russian experts evaluate market growth to be between 6 and 15 percent annually. Russia's economy has grown more than 6 percent annually for the last five years.

According to GTI's World Trade Atlas, sugar confectionery imports in 2005 were $101 million; the import value for chocolate reached $263 million.Leading exporters to Russia are Ukraine, Germany, Poland and Italy.Price does not affect the purchasing decision, as was the case after the financial crisis when consumers preferred cheaper sugar confectionery to chocolate confectionery.Russian consumers are looking for greater variety and quality.Western holidays are growing in popularity.Halloween, Santa, and Valentines Day advertisements and candy novelties show up more and more each year.Interested exporters should contact ATO Moscow to inquire about World Food 2006 in September and show Russia their products.


Market size

The size of confectionery market sales in Russia exceeded $3.5 billion in 2005 and can be considered one of the biggest in the world.Russian experts evaluate market growth between 6 and 15 percent annually.While this growth can slow down in terms of volume, the value of market size will keep growing due to consumer preferences towards better quality and better-packed confectionery products.

Table 1. Market size, $US mln

	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005
Chocolate confectionery	3,060	2,636	2,741	2,934	3,076	3,353	3,641	3,896
Tablets	880	745	713	762	805	876	953	1,026
Countlines	427	341	362	388	412	432	452	470
Bagged selflines/softlines	1,002	922	1,015	1,075	1,128	1,197	1,291	1,363
Boxed assortments	648	544	557	605	618	724	813	897
Standard boxed assortments	648	544	557	605	618	724	813	897
Twist wrapped miniatures	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Seasonal chocolate	57	50	57	62	68	75	81	86
Chocolate with toys	47	35	38	41	45	49	52	54

                                                                                                                Source: Euromonitor