Russian regions need 30 bln-40 bln rubles to fund northern deliveries for two years

MURMANSK. March 26 (Interfax) - Russian regions need 30 billion-40 billion rubles to support deliveries of goods to northern areas for a two-year period, the head of the State Duma Committee for Development of the Far East and Arctic, Nikolai Kharitonov said at a session devoted to this issue at the International Arctic Forum in Murmansk.

He said regions desperately need government loans for northern deliveries.

"Budget loans are a key measure of support for stable and uninterrupted supplies to northern territories. Now, amid the high refinancing rate, higher prices for fuel and transport and logistics services, it is they that can and should stabilize prices for supplied products, and this, I believe, is a key goal of the federal law [on northern deliveries] that we passed. I want to say immediately that virtually everyone understands the need for budget loans. But there are differences in the proposed mechanisms for their provision," Kharitonov said.

He said regions are saying the duration of treasury loans for northern deliveries need to be extended or separate limits need to be set on budget loans for the purchase and delivery of goods to the North for a term of at least two years. They also propose to allow the provision of budget loans to legal entities for the purchase and delivery of goods for northern deliveries within one constituent member of the Russian Federation.

"The Finance Ministry believes it is necessary to provide financial support with the aid of treasury loans for northern deliveries, as well as with the funds of regional budgets. But at the same time it believes that the issue of granting budget loans for northern deliveries for a term of at least two years should be revisited after an analysis of the results of the use of treasury loans in 2025. The analysis we did of the application of the law on northern deliveries showed that a number of regions already have a debt now to some participants in northern deliveries," Kharitonov said.

Shipments to the North depend on the specifics of the navigation period and these loans cannot be covered in one year, he said. "Participants in northern deliveries are prepared to reimburse the received assistance only after selling the products, meaning by the next year, at the start of the new navigation season. Whether treasury loans can solve this problem is a big question, especially in the current economic conditions, when the cost of borrowing has increased significantly," Kharitonov said.

He also said the implementation of the law on northern deliveries identified a number of issues in the 2024 navigation period that need to be addressed, including the availability of icebreaker escorts for vessels with cargo for northern deliveries and the increase in the cost of charters for shipment of goods.

"And how will we then fulfill the key promise to citizens to reduce prices for goods shipped to the North? Therefore, we expect additional decisions on measures to influence prices and rates for the population. We also expect the establishment of optimal logistics routes for cargo deliveries, to make them cheaper," Kharitonov said.