World meat industry news

In 2021, Sber entered into over 15,000 loan agreements worth over RUB 70 bn with small businesses operating in the agricultural sector. Over 60% of the lending volume was accounted for by loans provided under the Russian Ministry of Agriculture's preferential subsidy program with a rate of up to 5% per annum.

The average rate at which companies borrowed funds was 16%, or 10.5% if accounting for soft loans. The average term for attracting funds hovers around three years. Most of the funds were provided to companies engaged in crop production, followed by meat and dairy farming.

Over half of all applications were processed online without need for a bank visit. These tools make it possible to increase and maintain a high level of lending to small-scale farming (SSF). The bank's share in terms of the amount of disbursed subsidies allocated to SFF is in excess of 37%.

This work resulted in a positive trend in quality indicators in recent years, despite the difficulties that the market is experiencing due to the pandemic:

— an increase from 11% to 15% in the share of small enterprises in agricultural production

— a 7% decrease in the share of private farms, with a transition to entrepreneurship and large-scale farming

— an increase in gross harvest while maintaining the size of the area cultivated.

Alexey Shashkin, director of Small and Micro-Sized Business, Sberbank:

“Sber services over 70,000 small businesses operating in the agricultural sector. The timely purchase of important resources and the renewal of an expensive fleet of equipment are of high priority to small enterprises. Our statistics confirm this: loans tend to be requested for the purchase of seeds, young livestock, and equipment to modernize production, as well as for the renovation of agricultural facilities. We understand the needs of farmers and provide them with the necessary financial resources in a timely manner, helping them focus on the effective development of this sector that is so vital to our country.”