Anti-dumping measures will have minimal impact on prices, the Ministry of Economic Development is sure
Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the need to introduce anti-dumping duties on European herbicides inside the country. This decision was previously made at the level of the EAEU, but Kazakhstan vetoed it. “In 30 days, in my opinion, it was supposed to come into force, Kazakhstan actually blocked it for some unknown reason, but some lobbyists seem to be working there,” Putin said at the Delovaya Rossiya forum (quote from transcript on kremlin.ru).
Nevertheless, as the head of state noted, this does not prevent individual countries, including Russia, from introducing such anti-dumping procedures on their territory. European companies sell agrochemicals on the Russian market, cheaper than on their own, which, according to the president, is "a sure sign of dumping," therefore the decision of the Eurasian Commission is "certainly justified." “Therefore, I hope our respective ministry will hear me, come up with an initiative, and the antimonopoly service will also support me. I do not see any obstacles, why should we not do this, ”Putin said. At the same time, he drew attention to the fact that certain volumes of products will continue to flow to Russia through Kazakhstan. “You just have to think about how to minimize our losses in this regard,” the president added.
Thus, Putin responded to the request of the company's deputy director general. "August" Vladimir Alginin. He said that the company is building a new plant, which will be put into operation in Tatarstan this year. The construction of the enterprise began in 2016, then it was announced that it would produce 15,8 million liters of drugs per year, which will be about 40% of the company's production. “The most modern plant, we believe, will be throughout Europe, there are no more such new plants,” Alginin told the president. However, according to him, the development of the domestic market “is not very pleasant to the importing companies,” whose share in the Russian market is still more than 50%. “And a rather powerful dumping campaign was launched against our producers, as a result of which the selling prices of many European companies on the Russian market were several times lower than they trade on their own market,” Alginin complained.
Later, the Ministry of Economic Development confirmed that the Russian side supports the decision of the Eurasian Economic Commission (EEC). At the same time, the ministry expressed confidence that the introduction of anti-dumping duties on herbicides from European suppliers will not significantly affect the prices of these products. “Russia supports the [EEC] decision. Consultations are underway with Kazakhstan. The impact on the price on the domestic market is minimal, ”a representative of the department told TASS. The press service of the Ministry of Agriculture forwarded Agroinvestor's questions to the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the latter has not answered the request to date.
The EEC decided to introduce anti-dumping duties on herbicides imported from the European Union in May 2018, following an investigation initiated by Russian manufacturers of plant protection products, including "August" and "Schelkovo Agrochem". According to the decision, the duties should be valid for five years in relation to a number of manufacturers and amount to 27-52%. At the same time, the EEC accepted from BASF и Syngenta price obligations, as a result of duties, they will not be applied. As toldAgroinvestment" Chief operating officer Syngenta Jonathan Parr, the company provided the Russian authorities with all the necessary information and assured that, firstly, its prices would remain in the premium segment, and secondly, that Syngenta intends to move towards a significant localization of production in Russia.
After the decision of the EEC, a number of Russian agricultural producers expressed concerns that after the introduction of anti-dumping duties, their costs for plant protection products would increase. So, the Sverdlovsk agricultural firm "Start" will continue to buy imported drugs, if they are of better quality, said "Agroinvestment»The fund director of the company Evgeny Kokovin. The president of the Agrotech-Garant group, Sergey Orobinsky, also admitted that although the company will be forced to revise the line of drugs used, it will not refuse some products even with an increase in prices, since there are no Russian analogues. Commercial Director of Agriculture "Rusagro"Konstantin Solodovnikov noted that taking into account the share of plant protection products in the cost of production, an increase in prices even by 30% will lead to a decrease in the overall profitability of farmers by 3-7%.
Vladimir Alginin does not share the fears of farmers about rising prices. According to him, all European companies have the opportunity to make a commitment to prices and volumes of supplies or to localize production in Russia. However, even if the manufacturer is subject to anti-dumping duties, its products will become uncompetitive, and the company will have to lower selling prices. The CEO does not see the risk of price increasesSchelkovo Agrochem»Salis Karakotov. “The rise in prices can occur only due to force majeure. For our part, we are ready to sign agreements with the Russian agrarian unions on fixing price lists for these five years, "Karakotov told Agroinvestor.
According to the FCS, in 2017, 130 thousand tons of insecticides, rodenticides, fungicides, herbicides, anti-sprouts and plant growth regulators worth $ 896 million were imported into Russia, of which 49% were herbicides, anti-sprouts and plant growth regulators. In January-November 2018, imports amounted to 108 thousand tons worth $ 792 million, 39% of all supplies came from herbicides, anti-sprouting agents and plant growth regulators.
Source: https://www.agroinvestor.ru