Russia to build 36 wholesale distribution centers in next 2 yrs - Tkachev
MOSCOW. June 29 (Interfax) - Russia will build 36 wholesale-distribution centers in the next two years, Agriculture Minister Alexander Tkachev forecast.
"In the course of three years 36 wholesale-distribution centers will appear across the country," Tkachev said on the NTV television channel's Pozdniakov program, according to NTV's website.
The centers will to a great extent resolve problems connected with seasonal price fluctuations on certain product types.
At the same time, Tkachev said he did not forecast any price spikes for food products because "for the most part, we will not have shortages."
"At least, none is expected for one or another of the products that we produce in Russia," he said.
Addressing the African swine fever situation, Tkachev said that 60% of the cases occur among personal small holdings. "Sixty percent of the infections occur in this sector, this is where the virus spreads and infects industrial facilities and that of course causes great damage," he said, adding that those personal small holdings behave "fairly negligently" by failing to observe veterinary standards.
"Our sloppiness will lead to us not being admitted to other markets," Tkachev said.
China, which is not opening its market to Russian pork due to the spread of AFS in Russia, is the prime example of this, he said.
"China is a very high priority market for us and we will definitely battle for it," he said.
