MOSCOW, August 19. /TASS/. Import substitution requires certain production changes and 3-4 years are needed for that, Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich said on Wednesday in an interview with Russia 24 TV Channel.
"Import substitution may not occur in one year. Import substituting goods appear gradually. The substitution is taking place step by step," the deputy prime minister said. "Import substitution is not expressed in dozens of billions of dollars but we notice that we are becoming more competitive when analyzing individual categories of goods," Dvorkovich said. The government has a specific import substitution plan by industries, which contains over a hundred positions, he added.
"We produce goods that do not merely substitute the import in Russia but can be supplied to other nations and compete on the global markets by virtue of their properties. This will exactly be the main driver of Russia’s economy in future," Dvorkovich said.
The government is trying to balance and support projects providing the most sensible effect in the import substitution, the deputy prime minister said. "We channel funds to areas where we see the greatest potential for import substitution," Dvorkovich said. Growth at present is primarily observed in agribusiness, construction materials production and automotive industry, Dvorkovich added.