Tkachev: lifting food import embargo tied to eliminating restrictions on Russian products
MOSCOW. Jan 23 (Interfax) - The issue of opening up the Russian market to imported food products must be linked to the elimination of restrictions on Russian food product exports, Agriculture Minister Alexander Tkachev said.
"In approving decisions, we must proceed from considerations about protecting the interests of our agricultural producers, which have invested in new projects since the counter-sanctions were approved. The issue of the partial or complete lifting of restrictions on supply of agricultural products to the Russian market must be discussed in association with the lifting of reciprocal restrictions in relation to Russian production: dairy products, poultry meat, beef, mutton," Tkachev said in an interview with Rossiiskaya Gazeta published on Monday.
The issue of lifting the restrictions "should be approached in a balanced way, taking into account the interests of each side," he said.
"That said, it must be understood that Russia's agricultural sector today is a modern, competitive sector, which has posted serious results in recent years," Tkachev said. "We can both meet domestic demand and increase exports. This is to the question about consumers from other countries. We have in the past seven years increased grain exports by one-third; in the past 10 years we have tripled exports of poultry meat, doubled those of pork. Today Russia fully supplies itself with grain, meat, vegetable oil, sugar, potatoes. Our international colleagues have been convinced that Russia cannot just trade in oil, but can be a leading global agricultural power."
"Russia is intensively expanding the sales market for its agricultural production. China, Turkey, Egypt and North Africa remain among our biggest trading partners," he said. "We regularly present our achievements at international agricultural expos: in China, the UAE, and other countries, where are agricultural producers are interested in opening up new sales markets. We are working fruitfully with colleagues, growing external trade and exports. We have ambitious plans," he said.