World meat industry news

The Ministry of Agriculture sees "certain positive signals" for the removal of barriers to the export of agricultural products. For example, the United States declared its readiness to guarantee shipping and insurance companies involved in the supply of Russian goods that they would not fall under their sanctions. However, this can only remove part of the current problems, said the head of the Ministry of Agriculture Dmitry Patrushev on the sidelines of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, Finmarket writes.

According to Patrushev, the largest international logistics and financial companies are now hindering the free supply of Russian products, including grain and mineral fertilizers. In addition, ship owners are afraid to work with Russian cargo, not wanting to fall under secondary sanctions. Patrushev believes that in order to solve general humanitarian problems, it is necessary to remove these trade barriers as soon as possible, and the reaction of international organizations, primarily the UN system, is important in this matter.

The Minister also said that the sanctions concerning the work of Russian banks and port terminals are still a hindrance. “I hope that through joint efforts at the international level, we will be able to solve all the difficulties and ensure the fundamental rights of people to affordable food,” he said. “In parallel, together with the Ministry of Transport and the Ministry of Industry and Trade, we are developing our own fleet, primarily of heavy-duty ships. In particular, the possibility of providing state support for these purposes is being considered. In the future, in this way we will be able to meet the needs of the business.”

The Union of Grain Exporters in the near future intends to form a consolidated application for the construction of ships and submit it to the United Shipbuilding Corporation through the Ministry of Agriculture, Eduard Zernin, chairman of the board of the union, said on the sidelines of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, Finmarket writes. Zernin noted that it was possible to replace the foreign fleet on the Black Sea, however, at the cost of "washing out" the fleet from the river. According to him, for the further normal functioning of the industry, “about a hundred” river-sea class vessels are needed, first of all, we are talking about Handymax type vessels. “But if we are counting on maritime sovereignty, we need Panamaxes. The need for them is several dozen. Today, the two largest companies already have about a dozen such vessels,” said Zernin.

Vice-President of the Russian Grain Union Alexander Korbut said that formally food does not fall under sanctions for humanitarian reasons. “However, it is not known how financial institutions and companies should work in order not to fall under Western sanctions. Recently, the US State Department sent a letter to the largest exporters and insurance companies that their actions will not be subject to sanctions. However, this letter is not so much for them as for banks,” Korbut believes. How positively this will affect the market is still unknown, he adds.

The second problem still remains - this is the extremely high cost of freight for Russian grain. “Perhaps, under the influence of the US statement, insurance companies will ease the freight conditions, although I doubt it,” says Korbut.

In addition, on the sidelines of the SPIEF, Patrushev said that the volume of exports of agricultural products from Russia against the background of restrictions will depend on the provision of the domestic market, and it is not a fact that the figure will decrease by the end of the year, TASS reports. According to the minister, it is necessary to ensure the domestic market, and depending on how many products are offered, the export potential will be provided. During the forum, Deputy Prime Minister Victoria Abramchenko noted the growth of Russian agricultural exports by 16%, despite the existing problems, and noted the prospects for increasing food supplies to the world market.