HO CHI MINH CITY, July 17 (Itar-Tass) — Russia has presented at a meeting of the APEC Business Advisory Council a three-year work plan for the Policy Partnership on Food Security. The APEC leaders are planned to consider and approve the document in September at their summit in Vladivostok, the Council Chairman, head of Summa Group Ziyavudin Magomedov told journalists on Tuesday.
He said the plan provides for cutting losses in the transportation of grain and increasing the efficiency of supply chains. “Among the key spheres of the Partnership work is increasing agricultural production, as well as promotion of trade and the development of food markets,” Magomedov said.
“This issue is particularly important for Russia, because for us it means the export of Russian grain to the growing Asian markets,” he explained. “Through the ports of the Far East alone we can export up to 10 million tonnes of grain, but this requires joint efforts of the state and business: the construction of grain terminals and elevators, reducing for farmers the tariffs on the transportation of grain by rail.”
The representative of Summa Group, which this June was chosen as a strategic investor for the United Grain Company, specified that “the most important for Russia spheres of the Partnership’s work include improving the efficiency of supply chains and the public-private partnership in infrastructure development.” “As of today, Russia does not have any grain terminal in the Far East, even though major food markets are located there,” the APEC National Business Centre said. “As a result, the volume of Russian grain exports to this region does not exceed 100 thousand tonnes – it is 100 times less than it could be. Another obstacle to the development of Russian grain exports - prohibitive tariffs for grain transportation towards the Far Eastern ports.”
In accordance with the development strategy of the United Grain Company, Russia needs to develop its export potential, build new grain terminals and elevators, develop foreign markets, which will allow it to increase exports volumes from the current 25-27 to 40 million tonnes in the current decade, according to Summa Group.