Optimum Volume of Russia's Grain Production Is 110 Million Tonnes a Year - 25 March, 2003

The optimum volume of Russian grain production is 110 million tonnes a year. As a Rosbalt correspondent reports, this was announced by Deputy Russian Prime Minister and Agriculture Minister Alexei Gordeyev, who spoke at a national conference on grain production today. He said that this level of production would not only meet domestic demands for grain but would also mean that 15-20 million tonnes of grain could be exported and it would allow the government to maintain the necessary levels of grain reserves.

At the same time, Mr Gordeyev pointed out that there have been record harvests in the last two years with Russia harvesting a little over 86 million tonnes of grain a year. He added that much of the grain has gone to waste as a result of low demand both domestically and abroad and grain-growers' income has dropped accordingly. In view of this, Mr Gordeyev said, the main objective of the Russian government in the area of agriculture is to support Russian grain exporters, align the Russian grain certification system with those of other countries, and increase labour productivity in the agricultural industry.