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Volga Baikal AGRO NEWS Update on Green Products Policy in Russia !!!
A draft law on agricultural products with improved characteristics was submitted to the RF government.
New rules will improve production standards and increase export volumes.
The bill on the so-called “green” agricultural products with improved characteristics, the production of which will be subject to more stringent quality requirements and compliance with environmental parameters, has been submitted to the government. This was reported by the press service of the Deputy Prime Minister of Russia Victoria Abramchenko. According to her, improved products of the agro-industrial complex will appear in the country, the register of which will be kept by the Ministry of Agriculture.
In production, the use of GMOs and the use of ionizing radiation will be banned, the use of pesticides will be significantly reduced. In addition, it implies tougher requirements for the content of heavy metals in mineral fertilizers that will be used in the production of “green” products. According to experts, the share of “green” products can be up to 10-15% of Russian exports, – added Abramchenko.
The bill will apply to the production of crop products, livestock, aquatic biological resources, fish products and aquaculture, seeds, parts of plants used for the reproduction of varieties of agricultural plants, pesticides, agrochemicals, mineral fertilizers, feed and feed additives, as well as food and food additives. In addition, the bill reflects more stringent requirements for the use of food additives, enzyme preparations, antibiotics, stimulants of growth and fattening of animals, hormonal preparations, which are established by national standards. Additionally, environmental requirements will be introduced, according to a message on the website of the Cabinet.
In February 2019, Russian President Vladimir Putin instructed the government to create a protected brand of domestic “green” products during his message to the Federal Assembly. “I instruct the government to create a protected brand of domestic clean,“ green ”products, it must confirm that only technologies that are safe for human health are used in its production, and deserve high quality guarantees both in the domestic and foreign markets. On the outside, everything will go, I assure you, there is nothing clean at all, abroad, ”said the head of state.
General Director of the Institute for Agricultural Market Studies (IKAR) Dmitry Rylko confirmed to “Agroinvestor” that such a product should really start to be in demand in developed countries, especially in China, where “400 million consumers with good incomes”, although it will be easier to sell a green product on the domestic market, the expert said. According to him, the product will be in demand in megalopolises among people who “closely watch what they consume.”
Tatyana Kozlova, Senior Project Manager, Appraisal and Financial Consulting, SRG Group, claims that the original purpose of the bill was to inform foreign markets about the quality standards of products produced in Russia and exported. However, according to her, in the current state of the bill and GOSTs, such labeling will in no way affect exports and the choice in favor of Russian products. It is necessary to take into account other factors that influence decisions on the purchase of a particular type of product: price, political environment, mentality and food preferences of importing countries, and so on.
“The bill is now being actively discussed in the domestic market and is perceived as a kind of marketing add-on that will allow dividing all agricultural products into three groups: organic products (the most expensive), products with improved environmental characteristics (intermediate price), all other products without appropriate certificates, – the expert explains. “Most consumers want all products on store shelves to be environmentally friendly and comply with GOSTs, for which the state is responsible, and not to think about what the badge is on the product and what it means.” According to Kozlova, the new law will probably not work, but it will affect the cost of products for the end consumer, because it has led to an increase in the corruption component, as well as to further stratification of the population in terms of consumption.
Deputy Minister of Agriculture Maxim Uvaydov, citing expert estimates, previously estimated the volume of the Russian market for agricultural products under the “green brand” at 900 billion rubles. If adopted, the law will enter into force on January 01, 2021.
