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Russian film directors' food chain project unlikely to receive state aid — ministry

Two Russian film directors asked the state to provide almost $19 mln to create a competitor to Western fast food networks

Andrey Konchalovsky and Nikita Mikhalkov (archive) ITAR-TASS/Sergey Bobylev

Andrey Konchalovsky and Nikita Mikhalkov (archive)

© ITAR-TASS/Sergey Bobylev

VLADIMIR, April 9. /TASS/. Film directors Andrey Konchalovsky and Nikita Mikhalkov are unlikely to receive the requested financial aid for their Eat at Home national public food chain project from the Russian Ministry of Agriculture, the head of the department with the Russian Ministry of Agriculture Anatoly Kutsenko told TASS Thursday. He added that the ministry is ready to support the food production but not the catering business.

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"The task of the Agriculture Ministry is to prepare products for consumption but the question is in the format ... This is related to catering business and is not a question to us directly," Kutsenko said, adding that the film directors should rather apply to the Ministry of Industry and Trade. "Of course we do not object but it [the project - TASS] does not meet our aid format, after all it’s a question to the Industry and Trade Ministry," he added.

In her turn, the Governor of Russia’s Vladimir region Svetlana Orlova thinks there’re enough local producers in Russia’s regions, who could open low-cost restaurants and work with local products.

"It’s all nice that they want but we do have our own entrepreneurs producing food and running catering business. Strong competition is crucial here," she added.

Earlier on Thursday it was reported that prominent Russian film directors and businessmen Andrey Konchalovsky and Nikita Mikhalkov want to create a competitor to Western fast food networks and ask the state to provide almost 1 bln rubles ($19 mln) for the project. "Andrey Konchalovsky and Nikita Mikhalkov requested the state to assist in creation of a national public food chain, which would become an alternative to the Western fast-food chainss. The partners need 971.8 mln rubles ($18.467 mln) to launch a network of cafes/food shops," the Kommersant newspaper reported.

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