August 31, 2012
Russia to make changes in animal feed industry
Russia''s Ministry of Agriculture has announced steps to make some important changes to the country''s animal feed industry, following the large-scale feed losses this year, due to weather anomalies.
According to the ministry the most important changes will be made in the area of producers insurance and distribution of government subsidies.
"We need to create a civilised market of insurance, to bring order here, and exclude the possibility of agricultural insurance scams that take place in certain regions," said Nikolai Fedorov, the head of the Ministry of Agriculture of the Russian Federation, during a recent press-conference.
It is also necessary to prevent the growth of prices in the food and feed markets. Providing the intended increase in production of meat and milk, preservation of the number of cattle, as well as a number of other reasons, the ministry has made a number of proposals for the provision of state support in the form of subsidies to the budgets of the drought-affected regions of the Russian Federation for the purchase and supply of feed required to produce poultry, pork, milk, and maintain the number of cattle, as well as for the purchase of seeds and fertilisers.
"Preliminary estimates and proposals for allocation of grants have been already sent to the Government of the Russian Federation," said Acting Director of the Department of Economics and Analysis of the Ministry of Agriculture Victoria Vlasova.
She also pointed out that the structure and the amount of support will be determined by the Ministry of Agriculture very soon and after that the Ministry of Finance will develop a programme for the final distribution of grants.