October 29 2008, 09:57

Russia: import dependence to exceed allowable norms

As Ivan Ushachev, the vice-president of the Russian Agrarian Academy, head of the All-Russian scientific research Institute of agrarian economy, reported, the share of imported produce on the Russian market exceeds the threshold of food security. He emphasized that a share of 20 % is considered as an economic threshold, after that would come stagnation – the situation when import started to suppress domestic production. At the moment imports share in the food resources of the Russian Federation totals 36 %. According to rational consumption rates, levels of self-sufficiency with domestically produced meat totals 60 %, milk – 80 %, sugar – 58 %, vegetables 0 84 % and fruits – 40 %. Ushachev noted that the current situation has become more complicated as a result of consequences caused by world economic and financial crisis, reported MeatMarket.