VLADIMIR PUTIN
ARCHIVE OF THE OFFICIAL SITE
OF THE 2008-2012 PRIME MINISTER
OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION
VLADIMIR PUTIN
ARCHIVE OF THE OFFICIAL SITE
OF THE 2008-2012 PRIME MINISTER
OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION
VLADIMIR PUTIN
“The domestic farming industry must satisfy the needs of the Russian market and facilitate its steady balance, particularly, in terms of costs. We must only export the excessive grain harvests. Based on this assumption, the government will gradually resume supportive measures in order to secure the position that our grain producers held previously in the global market. But I will repeat it once more: domestic consumption is a priority.”
“This year’s results have shown that the Russian farming industry is becoming steady and well-balanced. We begin to extend the production range and make changes to the system of the rural economy, which means there are new prospects and new standards of living for the people working in the rural area and new prospects for the steady supplying of the big industrial centers. This is our main objective: to ensure a good quality of life in the rural area and to supply affordable domestic produce to big industrial cities.”
“We expect a total of 95 million tonnes of crops this year, with wheat harvest amounting to 60 million tonnes, 18 million tonnes more than in 2010. What does it mean? It means we reached the goal we set for ourselves. It means that such a substantial reserve will cover both the domestic demand and the reserves required for the next year, thus restoring Russia’s position in the global market. In this regard, I would like to say thank you to the workers of the farming industry. This is an excellent result!”
“The methods of supporting agriculture leave ample room for progress, particularly through precisely prioritised long-term development programmes.”
“We can say that we have overcome the agricultural recession caused by the two drought years with exceptional heat, which was the worst last year. We roughly estimate the total grain yield at 90 million tonnes <…> In addition to supplying the domestic market, Russia will also rejoin the world’s leading grain exporters. We certainly owe it to our farmers but don’t forget that the government gave them a hand in hard times, helping not only with the work but also with maintaining development capital.”
“In Russia, the national agricultural policy has always been more than pure economics. It has at all times carried social implications and in many ways determined the potential for the country's development in general. I am positive that if we join the efforts of the government, businesses and public organisations <…> we will be successful.”
“We fully understand that grain export is a strong motivating factor in production, increased harvests, and extended cultivation. It also implies growing investment into logistical improvements and port infrastructure in southern Russia and the Far East. Finally, it is a real opportunity to diversify the structure of Russian foreign trade turnover. According to experts, next year, Russia will be able to export up to 15 million tonnes of grain and retake its place at the top of the world’s grain exporters.”
“Only recently, many people did not take the suggestion seriously that Russia could be a viable exporter. We were net importers. Nobody believed that we could sell grain abroad. And yet we have managed to do so by bringing in harvests approaching 100 million tonnes. In 2007, Russia became one of the top three grain exporters in the world.”
“Today the call to “buy Russian” is<…> a reality: domestic products are returning to stores after a period in which imports had wiped them off the shelves. There are still plenty of foreign imports, but the situation is changing. More and more, people prefer domestic products that have an edge in terms of quality and environmental purity and that are natural products rather than some cheap synthetic surrogate brought in from abroad.”
“We are becoming the masters of our own food and agrarian market step by step. All this is the result of the development of the Russian agro-industrial sector – the tangible result of the work of Russian farmers, livestock breeders, and the food processing industry.”
