NATALIA SHAGAIDA: “CAN RUSSIAN AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS INFLUENCE GEOPOLITICS?”
Natalia Shagaida, Head of Agrarian Department of the Gaidar Institute, summed up the statement by Dmitry Medvedev, Deputy Head of the Security Council of the Russian Federation, that Russia should supply food and crops only to friendly countries. Talking to “Ridus”, she noted that she would consider Medvedev's declaration solely as a political statement.
"Why is it believed that Russia supplies grain on a huge scale? The EU is the largest producer of agricultural products, grain in particular. For example, Romania and France are among the largest producers of wheat," the expert recalled.
"We have other buyers of grain. In the current global context, the question is not where to fit our grain (everyone needs it badly now, and therefore the prices are so high), rather it concerns its sales, so that to avoid technical trade restrictions," Shagaida added.
"We have other buyers of grain. In the current global context, the question is not where to fit our grain (everyone needs it badly now, and therefore the prices are so high), rather it concerns its sales, so that to avoid technical trade restrictions," Shagaida added.