On October 5, Minister of Agriculture of the Russian Federation Alexander Tkachev took part in the business breakfast “Export of agricultural products: key success factors”, which was held as part of the business program of the Russian agricultural exhibition Golden Autumn 2017.
The main topics of discussion were achievements, potential and export development of the Russian agricultural sector. Over the past 10 years, the export of agricultural products has grown by 3,5 times and reached $ 2016 billion in 17,1.
“The record grain harvest of 2017 lays a strong foundation for Russia's export opportunities. This season, the export of grain can be increased to 45 million tons, including wheat - over 30 million tons. Since the beginning of the season, 12 million tons of grain have already been exported, which is a quarter more than last year's level, " Alexander Tkachev and emphasized that successes are observed not only in the growth of volumes, but also in diversification in terms of geography and product structure.
So, last year, China stood on a par with Russia's other largest export market - Turkey. Russian exports to China grew by 17% compared to 2015, Kazakhstan, South Korea and Egypt also entered the top 5 countries purchasing Russian products. The geography of food supplies from Russia is constantly expanding: grain is already exported to more than 100 countries of the world; recently, countries such as Mexico, Colombia and Laos have begun purchasing.
The key export items of Russian agricultural products in 2016 were wheat (24,7% of agricultural exports), sunflower oil (8,4%), frozen fish (11,5%), bread and confectionery (5,5%), corn (5%).
“In recent years, the development of non-grain exports has been gaining momentum. In the first 7 months of this year, sugar exports increased 52 times to 250 thousand tons. Exports of pork increased by 83%, sunflower oil - by 34%, poultry - by 32%. Such fundamental changes pose new challenges for the domestic agro-industrial complex, ”the minister said.
An additional impetus to the active export of Russian agricultural products was given by the creation and promotion of Russian food brands - these are umbrella brands such as Made in Russia, goods with a protected geographical name, and specific trade marks. Today, Russian food is valued in foreign markets as environmentally friendly and natural, so there is a potential to develop this image. However, as noted during the discussion, it is also important not only to comply with international standards, but also to take into account regional and country specifics when supplying products.
The participants of the business breakfast emphasized that the creation of export cooperatives could be an important area of export support. The Ministry of Agriculture has prepared a draft decree of the Government of the Russian Federation on the provision of subsidies to cooperatives in promoting agricultural products. The support mechanism for export-oriented cooperatives will provide for compensation of 50% of the cost of transporting products to their final destination. The creation of export cooperatives will help farmers and small producers to enter foreign markets.
In general, the tasks of the Ministry of Agriculture for 2018 within the framework of the priority project “Export of agricultural products” adopted by the Government of the Russian Federation are to further remove barriers to food exports and develop new areas of support, and by 2030 increase food exports to 30 billion.
Among the priority tasks for the development of exports for this and next year is the launch of a mechanism for subsidizing the transportation of grain from the interior regions of the country to export ports, which will both increase the volume of grain exports and equalize prices within the country.
In addition, together with the Russian Export Center, the possibility of compensating the costs of rail transportation of all agricultural products exported is being explored. On August 2, the Government of the Russian Federation allocated 100 million rubles to offset part of the costs of transporting agricultural products by road and rail.
The event was moderated by an observer of the RBC television channel Andrey Levchenko.
Among the participants in the discussion is the Minister of Agriculture of the Russian Federation Alexander Tkachev, General Director of the Russian Export Center Petr Fradkov, Member of the Board (Minister) of the Eurasian Economic Commission for Industry and Agroindustrial Complex Sergey Sidorsky, Minister of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply of the Federal Republic of Brazil Maggie Blyro, President of Auchan in Russia Francia Remi, Managing Director of the Irish Food Council Board Bia 2004-2007. Aydan Kotter, CEO of UMA Exports Rajesh Tibreval, CEO of Ketchum Maslov Mikhail Maslov, President of the consulting company AGRIFOOD Strategies Albert Davleev, Chairman of the Board of Directors of SUE RESOURCE Victor Nauruzov, Chairman of the Board of Directors, GC Prodimex Igor Khudokormov, founder and chef of the restaurant "Honest Kitchen" Sergey Eroshenko and others.
Source: http://mcx.ru