Wholesale Food Markets in Russia: A Forgotten Reform or Missed Opportunity?

In September 2021, the government approved the "Concept for the Development of Wholesale Food Markets." The plan was meant to launch the creation of modern wholesale food trade infrastructure. The state set several objectives:

• increase the population's access to food products;
• improve their quality;
• make pricing more transparent;
• provide agricultural producers with guaranteed sales channels.

In March 2022, the Ministry of Industry and Trade approved recommendations for creating such markets, followed in April by an implementation plan for the concept. The development of wholesale food markets (OPR) was actively discussed with participation from government representatives, industry experts, and practitioners. In June 2022, this issue was debated at the international forum "Russian Retail Week."

By early 2026, efforts to establish an OPR network in Russia had not progressed beyond methodological groundwork and adoption of strategic documents. Does the country need an OPR system? Why has systematic transformation of the wholesale sector stalled?

What is an OPR?

A wholesale food market is a venue where producers and wholesalers rent trading spaces and sell products in bulk.

Within an OPR, producers and consumers of food products meet in one place. The market organizes trade: it establishes pricing rules and facilitates settlements between participants. Typically, prices at OPRs are formed through auction principles, ensuring competitive and fair pricing.

Beyond trading spaces, the market provides participants with logistics, financial, and marketing services. An integral part of OPR operations is centralized phytosanitary and veterinary control of products by the state. Such markets typically feature warehouses, cold storage, and other infrastructure for storing products.

OPRs are usually located in areas of greatest demand concentration—near major urban centers—to ensure stable food supply for the population.

OPRs abroad

In most developed countries, wholesale food markets are a key element of the food trade system: the USA, Australia, Japan, China, and EU member states. According to estimates by the World Union of Wholesale Markets (WUWM), OPRs account for at least half of wholesale food supplies worldwide.

In most countries, the OPR system began forming in the second half of the last century as a result of public-private partnerships in food production and distribution. Spain's experience is textbook. Since 1965, the company Mercasa, whose capital is distributed between municipalities (51%), its own funds (26%), and wholesalers (23%), has managed an OPR system operating effectively in Spain's largest cities and urban areas.