Russian agricultural minister confirms plans to purchase three mln tonnes of grain for govt fund

SAMARKAND. Dec 2 (Interfax) - The volume of grain purchases for the government's intervention fund should reach three million tonnes by the end of the year, as planned, Russian Agriculture Minister Dmitry Patrushev told reporters in Samarkand on Friday.

"I think that there will be about three million tonnes by the end of the year," Patrushev said.

Meantime, a number of experts insist that amid this year's record harvest that has already exceeded 155 million tonnes in bunker weight, grain purchases for the government fund must increase. The volume of suggestions ranges from 10 million tonnes to 20 million tonnes.

However, Deputy Prime Minister Victoria Abramchenko last week said that there were not any conditions for increasing grain purchases for the country's intervention fund, and that government purchases would continue until the fund has three million tonnes. According to Abramchenko, the calculation of purchase volumes "was based on the need to balance supply and demand. Three million tonnes is the calculated value of the Agriculture Ministry, and this is three-month consumption of food grain. There has been no other task to increase the fund," she explained.

Grain purchases for the government fund began on August 1 this year, and purchases totaled 2.14 million tonnes as on December 1.

United Grain Company is the government's procurement agent.