MOSCOW, July 6. /TASS/. Russian Agriculture Minister Dmitry Patrushev does not rule out that the situation with the pandemic and the novel coronavirus spread may have influenced foreign demand for Russia’s agriculture products favorably.
"As far as the situation in Russia’s agriculture is concerned, the degree of the pandemic’s influence is obviously lower than in most countries worldwide. Moreover, we see prospects in that crisis. First, the demand for Russian products in other countries is expected to rise," he said in an interview with TASS.
Second, the falling household purchasing power globally will move consumer preferences towards relatively cheap products, the minister believes. In this environment, affordably priced Russian food items are becoming increasingly competitive, whereas the international export of products with high-added value may go down, he noted.
Overall, the pandemic bears serious challenges for the global market, meaning for the agriculture industry as well, Patrushev said. "The agriculture sector has equally been hit in developed and developing countries. In the former case, that is related to employees in the sector being infected, which in a number of cases resulted in enterprises being shut and prices rising," he said.
In developing and import-dependent countries, a decline in food reserves has become the main problem, the minister said, adding that they faced a situation with demand exceeding supply and growth of prices at some point. "Nevertheless, that was a short-term situation, and we suggest that now the markets are returning back to normal," he said.