Trends and strategy for the development of the food and processing industry in the region

Trends in the development of food and processing industry in the Orel region, as well as itsproblematic aspects, are revealed in the article. Food and beverages in the structure of shipped goods of manufacturing industries in the Orel region in 2022 amounted to 45.2%,that is, the largest share, which exceeded by 8.6 percentage points their share in 2018, andindicates an increase in the industry development. The production of cream, processed andcanned fish, poultry meat, butter and melted butter, milk fat, etc., beef, pork and otheranimals meat, is leading more than 2 times the growth rate, while the production of cottagecheese, fermented milk products, incl. sour cream, milk (except raw milk), canned fruits andvegetables, cereals, bakery products, beet sugar has a negative development trend, whichprevents the country's food security in terms of milk and dairy products, vegetables andmelons. At the same time, compared to 2021, there was a sharp decline in the production ofsausages, including sausages for baby food, and meat and meat-containing semi-finishedproducts. About of 14.7 billion rubles were invested into the food production from 2018 to2021, while the profitability of sold food products, although it increased up to 17.5%, limitedthe possibility of conducting expanded reproduction of the industry due to their high costs.Therefore, the key strategy should be based on the effective development of the createdcluster of food and processing industries in the Orel region, the introduction of innovative,primarily digital solutions.