Foreign suppliers begin returning advance payments for ordered equipment to Russian agriculture sector - AgMin

MOSCOW. April 13 (Interfax) - Foreign suppliers have begun to return advances for ordered equipment to the Russian agricultural sector. This mains concerns equipment for processing of agricultural products.

"Due to the sanctions, many foreign suppliers have returned their advances for equipment. Now [customers] are looking for new suppliers from friendly countries," Deputy Agriculture Minister Elena Fastova said at a briefing on Wednesday.

This mainly concerns equipment for those who, for example, build dairy plants or create dairy farms, where equipment is also imported, she said. "These are one-off investment projects, [which are implemented] mainly by big businesses that wanted to build something modern," she said, adding that there is no wave of advance payments being returned.

In this regard, businesses are now actively exploring the possibility of buying equipment in friendly countries, actively communicating with China or planning to buy domestic counterparts, Fastova said. At the same time, she stressed that agricultural producers are optimistic. "There is absolutely no panic in the industry," the deputy minister said.

The Agriculture Ministry, in turn, has drawn up a procedure whereby loans used for returned advance payments may be used for purchasing equipment in other countries or in the domestic market. This procedure has already been considered by the Finance Ministry in preliminary form.