Medvedev says Russia’s 2017 grain harvest may hit all-time record

MOSCOW, Oct 4 (PRIME) -- Russia’s 2017 grain harvest may set an all-time record, Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said on Wednesday at an agricultural exhibition.

“The Agriculture Ministry is sure that we will have a record harvest of grain this year. The latest data shows that we have threshed more than 126 million tonnes of grain,” he said.

“This is not just more than we had last year. In fact, it means that we may set a record figure for the past 100 years. And we don’t even know what was before the 100 years ago. It is very likely to become the record for the entire history. This is great.”

In 2017, the government spent 242 billion rubles on support of agriculture, and plans to increase the spending in 2018. “We will try not to just keep the level of support next year, but increase it. These parameters have already been included in the state budget,” he said.

Russia is close to fulfilling its food security doctrine and has returned its position among the world’s leading agricultural producers, he said.

(57.9375 rubles – U.S. $1)

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