The Prime Minister visited the International Specialised Exhibition Belagro-2024 and spoke at the Food Security of the Eurasian Economic Union plenary session.
Group photo of the heads of delegations taking part in the Food Security of the Eurasian Economic Union plenary session
Group photo of the heads of delegations taking part in the Food Security of the Eurasian Economic Union plenary session. Prime Minister of Kazakhstan Olzhas Bektenov, Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers - Head of the Presidential Administration of the Kyrgyz Republic Akylbek Japarov, Prime Minister of the Republic of Belarus Roman Golovchenko, and Prime Minister of Uzbekistan Abdulla Aripov
Mikhail Mishustin and Prime Minister of the Republic of Belarus Roman Golovchenko
Mikhail Mishustin and Deputy Prime Minister of Belarus Igor Petrishenko during the meet-and-greet at the Minsk National Airport
Heads of delegations participating in the Food Security of the Eurasian Economic Union plenary session
Mikhail Mishustin, Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers - Head of the Presidential Administration of the Kyrgyz Republic Akylbek Japarov, Prime Minister of Belarus Roman Golovchenko, Prime Minister of Uzbekistan Abdulla Aripov, and Prime Minister of Azerbaijan Ali Asadov at the Food Security of the Eurasian Economic Union plenary session
Remarks by Mikhail Mishustin at the Food Security of the Eurasian Economic Union plenary session
Remarks by Mikhail Mishustin at the Food Security of the Eurasian Economic Union plenary session
Mikhail Mishustin and the heads of the delegations touring the Belagro 2024 International Specialised Exhibition
Mikhail Mishustin and the heads of the delegations touring the Belagro 2024 International Specialised Exhibition
Mikhail Mishustin and the heads of the delegations touring the Belagro 2024 International Specialised Exhibition
Mikhail Mishustin and the heads of the delegations touring the Belagro 2024 International Specialised Exhibition
Mikhail Mishustin and the heads of the delegations touring the Belagro 2024 International Specialised Exhibition
Mikhail Mishustin and the heads of the delegations touring the Belagro 2024 International Specialised Exhibition
Group photo of the heads of delegations taking part in the Food Security of the Eurasian Economic Union plenary session
Remarks by Mikhail Mishustin:
Friends, colleagues,
I would like to welcome the participants of the Food Security of the Eurasian Economic Union plenary session, which is held as part of the specialised exhibition Belagro. This international event has become a traditional meeting place for producers of agricultural products and machinery, representatives of the research community, business, specialists and industry leaders.
Russian entrepreneurs always take part in Belagro and conclude dozens of mutually beneficial contracts during this exhibition. They exchange experience and innovative practices that concern, primarily, upgrading agrarian complexes, and improving their efficiency and competitiveness.
Without exaggeration, food security is of key importance for Russia and all EAEU countries. It is vital for the people to have access to high-quality, healthy and diverse foods which fact calls for expanding about a dozen of related industries, including the production of our own agricultural machinery and fertiliser, as well as food, processing and chemical industries. It is also essential to build reliable logistics, establish sustainable business relations and supply chains for fuel, fertiliser, grain and other foods, and to continue to advance R&D efforts.
We in Russia are very serious about these issues. We are successfully working to achieve the goals that are included in the national Food Security Doctrine as outlined by President Putin. We exceeded the benchmarks for the production of grain, vegetable oil, sugar, meat and meat products, as well as fish and fish products as of the end of last year.
Our country is among the top 20 suppliers of agricultural products on the international market. We rank as a number one global supplier of wheat, sunflower oil, and walleye pollack. Last year, Russian food made it to the shelves in 160 countries, with over 100 million tonnes of food and 40 million tonnes of fertiliser shipped abroad.
The high level of our own production makes it possible for us to support other countries which we are doing despite the obstacles created by the collective West, primarily in terms of financial servicing of the transactions, logistics, and insurance.
Over the past five years, we have shipped about 380,000 tonnes of food as humanitarian aid to Africa and Asia.
February saw the completion of a gratuitous transfer of 200,000 tonnes of Russian wheat to six African countries. Over 110,000 tonnes of fertiliser were shipped to Malawi, Kenya, Zimbabwe, and Nigeria. Unfortunately, our detractors caused even greater amounts of fertiliser get stuck at the European ports, even though Russia shipped it to the countries in need free of charge.
We have always been a reliable international partner that conscientiously fulfills all commercial and humanitarian obligations and will continue to adhere to these principles in the future.
The President outlined the priorities of the continued development of agriculture in his executive order on revised national goals. By the end of the decade, we will scale up the agricultural production by a quarter, and exports by 50 percent. Of course, this is quite an ambitious goal. We have already started implementing it.
We plan to substantially increase the production of grains, pulses, and oilseeds, as well as meat, primarily poultry and lamb. In addition, there will be other assortment, including fat and oil products, flour and cereals, milk, and confectionery.
We believe it is important to form plans like these with all the countries of the Big Five based on the balances that we have agreed upon. The Eurasian Economic Commission can be a platform for this work.
The EAEU has an unmatched agricultural potential, with about 320 million hectares of land used in agriculture. The common market includes almost 190 million people.
At the meeting of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council held in Moscow in May, the President of Russia emphasised that it was possible to solve the problem of an independent, uninterrupted supply of food and vital types of agricultural products to the domestic market through joint efforts.
Over 10 years since the union was created, the agricultural output has grown by more than a quarter. Over the first quarter of this year, it gained another 1.5 percent. These positive trends are observed in all the five states.
Mutual deliveries help stabilise prices during the off-season.
The EAEU’s level of covering the demand with its own foods is growing from year to year. According to our calculations, it exceeded 93 percent at the end of last year.
Russia and Kazakhstan fully cover the needs of the union market for grain and vegetable oils. Belarus is a reliable supplier of meat and dairy products, and Armenia and Kyrgyzstan of vegetables and fruits, for which there is a high demand in other countries of the union.
These specifics and productions capabilities must be considered in further joint work in order to strengthen food security and to guarantee the stability and predictability on the common market.
Now, our indicative balances for the most important goods: wheat, barley, corn, sunflower seeds, sugar, sunflower oil are formed annually. Harmonisation of these indicators will help coordinate the export of this group from the union to foreign markets. among other things. We also plan to extend the current mechanism for another year. We will discuss this issue at a meeting of the intergovernmental council.
I believe that we should form balances for almost all essential goods, and their preparations should be synchronised. Moreover, they should take into account the medium- and long-term plans of each of the five countries to increase production in the agricultural complex.
In many ways, our export positions are similar. The transition to a common policy in this area will allow us to act together in order to increase the revenue of all the participants, instead of competing with each other.
Ensuring the EAEU’s food security also calls for efficient logistics and modern transport corridors. This is important for cutting the cargo operators’ costs and fast delivery of products, primarily due to seamless digitalisation of the cross-border movement of goods. The joint project, the well-known Eurasian Agroexpress, is aimed at achieving this goal as well. It was instrumental in accelerating the transport of agricultural products and increasing the union's exports to other countries, including Uzbekistan and China. Containers have been shipped to India as well.
Last year, 14 agreements were signed with the Russian regions for them to join the Agroexpress. Of course, it is important to continue designing and building agro-hubs and trade and logistics centres along the route, so that even more customers could get access to fresh and high-quality vegetables, fruits and other foods.
Self-reliant and independent agricultural complexes cannot be expanded without major investment in research and transforming agriculture into a high-tech industry. Innovative solutions must come to agribusiness, including robotics, artificial intelligence, and biotechnology. Our leaders mentioned this at the meeting of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council held in Moscow in May. Coordination of the efforts on this track will facilitate the creation of common new supply chains.
Matters pertaining to scientific research cooperation and joint educational projects have not yet made it in full to the integration agenda. We all can do a lot to improve things in this department, all the more so as more and more tools are becoming available to help us fulfil our common plans. For example, it was decided to subsidise cooperation projects in industry. We propose drafting a similar programme for the joint development of agricultural technologies. I hope the EAEU member states will support this initiative.
Adapting the agricultural sector of the union to changing climate is another challenge. The provision of water and creating effective irrigation systems is essential. Russia has strong technological competencies and achievements in this area, and we are willing to share them.
Colleagues,
Much has been done in the EAEU to improve food security in the recent past. Of course, the credit for that goes primarily to our agrarians. I would like to take this opportunity to offer my heartfelt thanks to them for the massive amount of daily work they do.
It is important for them to have everything they need to ensure success. I suggest paying special attention to expanding the production of agricultural machinery, breeding and genetics, the production of enzymes, food and feed additives, and veterinary preparations and equipment.
Prime Minister of the Republic of Belarus Golovchenko has covered breeding and genetics extensively. I fully share your views and would like to see the Big Five members and the observers join in these efforts.
This will help us scale up the performance of the agro-industrial complexes of all five countries and that of our distinguished observers, and to have the union rise to its full potential. This will help us tap the potential of the union, to achieve food independence, and to provide food for 600 million people on the planet. We have all it takes to get there and I’m confident that we will fulfil many of our plans.
Thank you.
Anton Atrashkin (moderator of the plenary session): Russia has always played a special role in ensuring global food security and created a number of initiatives praised by the global community.
What role do you think Russia and the EAEU can and must play today in ensuring the global food security of the 600 million people you have talked about?
М.Мишустин: The key role, to be brief.
Obviously, the unique location of both the Russian Federation and Eurasian Economic Union allows for delivering food and water to any place in the world via fairly optimal routes – to the countries in Asia, Africa, South America, and Europe.
As regards the common potential, colleagues, just think about this: we have 10 percent of all the arable land in the world – in the EAEU, to be more specific.
We have about one tenth of the world’s fresh water reserves. In terms of energy surplus, we have the opportunity to provide energy to any location where we will undertake joint investment projects in food processing.
We have over 13 percent of the global wheat reserves and more than 16 percent of the world’s barley reserves.
We also have over 10 percent of the global reserves of nitrogen and phosphate fertilisers and over 40 percent of potassium fertilisers.
Russia and Kazakhstan produce almost one third of sunflower and sunflower oil in the world.
Russia and Belarus provide for about six percent of pasteurised milk and five percent of skimmed milk powder. Are there enough arguments?
But most importantly, we are able to boost our export potential and behave responsibly. Vladimir Putin has repeatedly emphasised that both Russia and the union member countries acted very responsibly in the global food market in the most challenging times. I am confident that we will continue to act this way, providing our friends and colleagues in friendly alliances with everything they need. We will also enhance the sovereignty and food security of the five member countries and boost their export potential.
This is how I see this future.
Anton Atrashkin: A very encouraging answer. Thank you, Mr Mishustin.
