Duma faction leader welcomes government's decision to regulate grain market

Leader of the Fatherland - All Russia faction of the State Duma VyacheslavVolodin approved of the decision made by the Russian government aboutimplementing purchasing interventions on the wheat and rye market, thepress service of the faction reported. This decision was made at today'smeeting of Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov, which was dedicated tothe issues of the Russian grain market stabilization. The State Dumaofficial was quoted as saying "the government's participation in regulatingthe grain market as an operator provides guarantees for the pricestabilization". "We are glad that the government responded to our address -with joint efforts, we'll be able to prevent crises in agriculture". Thedeputies of the Fatherland - All Russia faction sent a letter to theRussian Prime Minister, in which they expressed their concern with thecurrent situation in agriculture in Russia. The deputies made a number ofproposals aimed at eliminating dangerous trends in the sector, inparticular, they suggested that the government buy for its reserves andsell on the market 8-10m tons of grain and fix a minimal price forpurchasing wheat at RUR2,500-2,800 (around $79.36-88.88) per ton, Volodinreiterated. .