Number of Russian agricultural attaches in China will increase to five in 2026 - Agriculture Ministry

MOSCOW. Dec 2 (Interfax) - The Russian Agriculture Ministry plans to increase its staff of representatives (agricultural attaches) in China to five in 2026, Deputy Agriculture Minister Maxim Markovich said.

"We plan to have five representatives in China starting next year," Markovich said at a strategic session of the Agroexport federal center in Moscow on Tuesday.

At the same time, the work of the ministry's representatives abroad is one of the key instruments for supporting exports, he said. "This year we have expanded the capabilities for our overseas staff. Some attaches will now be responsible for several countries in which they work. This will allow us to cover additional countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America where the Agriculture Ministry currently has no representatives abroad," he said.

"In addition, we have achieved the possibility of placing agricultural attaches outside the countries' capitals," he said.

Despite existing difficulties, the export of agricultural products from Russia is growing, he said. "For the majority of items, we are seeing steady growth in monetary terms. For example, according to data as of November 23 this year, our exports of food and processing industry products increased 8% compared to the same period last year, exports of meat and dairy products [grew] 24%, shipments of oil and fat products grew 3% and fish and seafood [grew] 17%," he said.

Such dynamics indicate that "the Russian agricultural sector has developed a stable export potential, which allows for increasing supplies even in conditions of volatility in the external environment," Markovich said.