Russia may impose restrictions on agricultural products import from Belarus :: Charter'97 :: News

Russia may impose restrictions on agricultural products import from Belarus, if Minsk does not decrease subsidies to its agricultural producers and cancel discriminatory measures taken against Russian goods. That was reported yesterday by the minister of economic development and trade Herman Greff at the meeting with the Duma deputies.

Discussion of the actions taken by the government for organizing agricultural products trading at retail markets was formally announced as the subject of the yesterday’s “Government Hour” at the Duma , the “Novie Izvestia “ newspaper says. The minister reported that there are, all in all, 5.8 thousand markets functioning in Russia, thus employing 1.2 million people. The markets’ share of the total retail trade turnover comprises 20% , including 15% of product markets’ share and 23% of manufactured goods markets’ share . The minister also told the deputies that the population buys 40% meet, 44% vegetables and more than half of fur and knitted goods from the markets . Herman Greff mentioned that since January 15, foreign traders at the Russian markets must not account for more than 40% of their total number, and since April 1 they would be prohibited to trade at the markets. Fairly speaking, when in the Duma’s lobby, the Minister informally admitted that he was not aware of how it could be actually realized and didn’t exclude that the prohibition of foreign trade at the markets might be postponed for an indefinite period of time.

Yesterday the Duma also got to know that in the near future, along with foreigners, Belarusian products might be removed from the markets. According to Herman Greff, due to the Russian cheap oil, Belarus subsidizes its agriculture manufactures three times as much as the Russian agriculture manufacturers are subsidized , thus making Belarusian products more competitive than Russian ones. The minister also counted 59 discriminatory measures regarding Russian goods . Moreover, in some case Russian manufacturers appear under worse conditions even than the third countries’ manufacturers .The minister reported, that if those subsidies and discriminatory measures were not cancelled” we shall be made to respond by imposing the sanctions against Belarusian manufacturers”. Dwelling on the subject of “the union state” with Belarus, Mr. Greff declared to the deputies, that no union state had been constructed at present. According to him, the development of the union constitution has been stopped on the initiative of the Belarusian ruler: Belarus is not going to introduce the Russian ruble as the legal tender and the economic legislations of both countries still remain different.