Minister: Russia may start grain exports to China very soon

BEIJING, May 4 (PRIME) – Russia may start grain exports to China very soon, Agriculture Minister Alexander Tkachyov said Tuesday at a meeting with his Chinese counterpart Han Changfu.

“Phytosanitary services signed protocols on phytosanitary regulations for supplies of five grains – wheat, soy, rapeseed, corn and rice – from Russia to China in December 2015. We expect supplies of Russian wheat to the Chinese market to start very soon,” he said.

A representative for the ministry told PRIME that the protocols envisage certain restrictions and additional work on amendments to the protocols is necessary after the signing.

Moscow hopes that China will soon lift its ban on imports of cattle meat and poultry from Russia and also “apply the compartmentation principle (a division of companies in categories defining the level of protection) to Russian companies that produce pork,” he said.

In October 2015, a Chinese delegation visited Russia and found no serious faults in production of beef and pork, but the ban was not lifted then. In March 2016, Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich met with Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and said that China promised to speed up solution of the issue and that imports may be allowed already in 2016.

Tkachyov suggested establishment of a Russia–China business council for agriculture to improve cooperation between business communities and government authorities of the two countries.

Moscow also offered China to discuss shifting fresh water flows from the Altai Region to China’s Xinjiang autonomous region through Kazakhstan. “We will hold consultations with our colleagues from Kazakhstan regarding the issue soon,” he said.

Currently, Altai Region’s state company Altaimeliovodkhoz discharges 70 million cubic meters of water per year.

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