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Prime Minister Vladimir Putin discusses the current harvesting campaign and the harvest forecast with Minister of Agriculture Yelena Skrynnik

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Transcript of the beginning of the meeting:

Vladimir Putin: Ms Skrynnik, how is the harvesting going? What are your forecasts for the harvest this year? And a very acute issue: How can we help agricultural producers affected by the heat and drought? What about sowing winter crops in the regions?

Yelena Skrynnik: Mr Putin, we have been harvesting crops in every federal district, except for the Siberian Federal District. We gathered 40 million tonnes of grain from 50% of cultivated areas. The Krasnodar Territory is leading: it collected 500,000 tonnes more than last year. The Stavropol Territory, which gathered 150,000 tonnes more, is also quite successful, as well as regions in the North Caucasian Federal District. The situation in the Central and Volga Federal Districts is more complicated. Our forecast, made together with the Federal Service for Hydrometeorology and Environmental Monitoring, is rather pessimistic, so to say: 65-70 million tonnes is our optimistic forecast and 60 million tonnes is our pessimistic forecast. However, the measures we are taking today give us hope that we will produce enough grain to satisfy our domestic needs.

Agricultural companies are ready for harvesting. They received 133 billion roubles in loans, and another 78 billion roubles in subsidies out of the 107 billion roubles allocated to agriculture in 2010. In addition, following your instruction, fuel and lubricants prices have been lowered 10% below wholesale prices, and prices for diesel fuel keep falling during this week by an average of 87 roubles. This is very good. Prices for mineral fertilizers were also kept down before the spring sowing campaign. All these measures support our agricultural producers.

Agriculture is now facing two tasks: autumn and spring sowing. We have to concentrate our efforts on supporting our agricultural producers to sow winter crops. The regions say they can sow 18 million hectares (44.4 million acres) with winter crops. If the weather is unfavourable the area may be reduced to 15 million hectares, so we will have to increase the spring sowing area by 30%. We have to help and support our agricultural companies to sow winter and spring crops. Providing the regions with seeds, mineral fertilizer, machines, fuel and lubricants is very important, so we ask for your help.

Vladimir Putin: If I understood you right, a shift is possible. Due to the fact that some regions cannot start sowing winter crops now, you propose to extend the area of spring crops.

Yelena Skrynnik: Yes, it is possible, because, above all, everything depends on weather conditions. If we do not have any rain until September 5, we will have to increase spring crops, and so the areas under spring crops will be extended by 30%, and the regions will have to be provided with seeds, fuel and lubricants, machinery and loans.