Marat Akhmetov: Fat-and-oil products are the main export driver in Tatarstan
On April 15, a joint meeting of the Committee on Ecology, Environmental Management, Agrarian and Food Policy and the Commission of the State Council of the Republic of Tatarstan on monitoring the implementation of the state program "Agricultural Development and Regulation of Agricultural Products, Raw Materials and Food in the Republic of Tatarstan for 2013-2020" was held. The parliamentarians heard a report on the activities of the republic's executive authorities and also discussed the results of the implementation of the state program. The Minister of Agriculture and Food of Tatarstan Marat Akhmetov attended the meeting.
The results of the implementation of the state program "Development of agriculture and regulation of the markets of agricultural products, raw materials and food in the Republic of Tatarstan for 2013–2020" for the first quarter of 2019 were presented by Marat Akhmetov. He dwelled on the main economic indicators, noting that according to the last year’s results Tatarstan took the 4th place among all regions of the country in terms of gross agricultural production. In the first quarter of this year, products worth 42 billion rubles were produced, which is 2 percent more compared to the same period of last year.
According to the Minister of Agriculture, the key task of the state program is to further increase the business activity of the rural population. On behalf of the President of the Republic of Tatarstan, this direction in the republic is overseen by the Chairman of the State Council, Farid Mukhametshin. It is worth emphasizing that in Tatarstan there are 460 thousand personal subsidiary farms, more than 4.5 thousand farms that provide half of the total agricultural production of the republic. Every year, more than 2 billion rubles are allocated from the regional budget to support small businesses, which helps ensure their dynamic development.
“Speaking about the implementation of the national project in the field of agriculture, the task was set to increase the volume of exports by two times. So, by 2024, this figure in monetary terms should be 360 million dollars. The main export driver of the republic, said Marat Akhmetov, is fat-and-oil products. ”
“The priority direction of our export is halal products. Today we are actively working to expand economic ties with the Islamic world. 72 of our enterprises are accredited for the production of halal. A number of enterprises enter the markets of the Gulf countries, Turkey, and Kazakhstan, ”he said, and noted the role of the KAZANSUMMIT international economic summit in promoting such products.
During the speech, the Minister of Agriculture drew attention to the monopolization of individual retail chains.
The meeting was also attended by the Deputy Chairman of the Committee of the Legislative Assembly of the Penza Region Mikhail Lisin. He said that in the Penza region a prerequisite for large retail chains is the sign of an investment agreement, which provides for "localization of goods." That is, a large network, “obliged to display local products on its shelves.”
Talking of the topic, the deputy director of CJSC Chelny-Bread, Rafael Yunusov emphasized that the retail chains for bakery products make a 100 percent mark-up. It was suggested to discuss this issue at a session of the State Council with a further appeal to the federal center to establish the maximum allowable trade margins.