MKB: Exports of high value-added agro-industrial products continue to grow

Since the beginning of 2021, the provision of compensation for part of the transportation costs for the EXPORT of products such as SUGAR, potatoes, buckwheat, bottled sunflower oil and grain has been suspended. According to the plan of the Ministry of Agriculture, this measure should help stabilize the situation on the market with prices. Russian President Vladimir Putin believes that, first of all, it is necessary to support the export of high value-added agricultural products

“Yes, we will do this, we will reorient the areas of support,” Russian Minister of Agriculture Dmitry Patrushev assured during a meeting with the HEAD of the country.

According to the head of the Ministry of Agriculture, agriculture is already systematically moving away exclusively from grain exports, and the share of deliveries of products with a higher added value is growing. In 2020, we managed to achieve a significant increase in this category. For example, according to Agroexport, the export of food and processing industry products increased by 14% to $4.15 billion.

“We are expanding the geography of deliveries for niche products. For example, we supply domestic ice cream to 35 countries, and Russian honey to 29. And we have more and more such examples every year,” Patrushev points out.

This year, the positive dynamics of exports of agricultural products with high added value, although not in all positions, continues, says Natalya Bahova, DIRECTOR of the trade finance department of the Moscow Credit Bank (MCB). Thus, as of April 4, the volume of shipments of sunflower oil abroad increased to $1.06 billion from $0.7 million a year earlier for the same period. The export of confectionery products increased to $220 million ($206 million as of the same date in 2020), advanced grain products to $93 million ($53 million), and beverages to $95 million ($74 million).

“A slight decline is still observed in poultry MEAT, which is due to a slight reduction in production and an increase in domestic prices, but the volume of supplies of pork and beef has increased significantly - from $51 million to $85 million and from $6 million to $30 million, respectively,” Bakhov cites figures.

In her opinion, meat, sunflower oil and sweets remain the main drivers of growth in exports of value-added products. And the main markets for increasing the supply of these products are the CIS countries and Asia.

Export of agricultural products from RUSSIA has grown by 16% since the beginning of the year

Exporter support programs, including financing subsidy programs, stimulate Russian suppliers and help them be more competitive in foreign markets, Bahova comments.

“But still, the correct organization of sales of the product to the buyer, a detailed analysis of sales markets play a primary role in the development of exports, and our manufacturers need to pay priority attention to this,” she is sure.