BERLIN -- European farmers should follow the lead of "Russian peasants," who managed to boost grain exports 150 percent last year to a record 12 million tons without state subsidies, Agriculture Minister Alexei Gordeyev said Friday.
"The time has come for Western agricultural producers to learn from Russian peasants how to work completely without any state support," Interfax quoted him as telling reporters at a trade conference in Berlin.
"There hasn't been a situation since 1928 when the supply of grain exceeded domestic demand," said Gordeyev, who is also a deputy prime minister.
Gordeyev said Russia produced 86.5 million tons of grain last year, 1 million more than the year before.
Gordeyev's comments come as trade tensions mount between Moscow and Brussels.
Europe is the largest market for Russian grain, but the European Union decided late last year to impose import quotas and duties after the bloc's internal market was flooded with cheap imports, mainly from Russia and Ukraine.
Moscow is threatening to retaliate with import duties and quotas of its own on meat imports, most of which come from Europe.
European Agriculture Commissioner Franz Fischler said after meeting with Gordeyev later Friday that Brussels is ready to offer Moscow a deal for exclusive import rights but will not alter the size of the bloc's already agreed annual quota.
Fischler said the EU could award Moscow a special allocation within an overall quota agreed late last year for imports of medium- and low-quality wheat.
"We are prepared in principle to agree a country quota with Russia," Fischler said.
"The overall [2.98 million ton] limit will not change," he said, referring to the EU's tariff quota system for grain imports that entered into force Jan. 1. Some market observers had speculated that Moscow was holding out for an exclusive grain deal outside, not within, the overall quota.
"The size of the Russian quota was not discussed today -- the experts will now have to talk about this," Fischler said.
Asked if Russia was prepared to negotiate about its planned import restrictions on meat in return for an EU grain import quota, Gordeyev said: "I do not think that these proposed exchanges have much to do with each other."
That statement was contradicted, however, by one of Gordeyev's own deputies, who said that by slapping restrictions on meat imports, Brussels will be forced to relax its grain stance.
"I believe that the introduction by us of [these] measures will make our partners adopt a more flexible approach," said Pavel Vintovkin, acting head of the ministry's food market regulation department.
He added that Russia may introduce restrictions on meat imports "shortly" but did not specify when.
(MT, Reuters)
"The time has come for Western agricultural producers to learn from Russian peasants how to work completely without any state support," Interfax quoted him as telling reporters at a trade conference in Berlin.
"There hasn't been a situation since 1928 when the supply of grain exceeded domestic demand," said Gordeyev, who is also a deputy prime minister.
Gordeyev said Russia produced 86.5 million tons of grain last year, 1 million more than the year before.
Gordeyev's comments come as trade tensions mount between Moscow and Brussels.
Europe is the largest market for Russian grain, but the European Union decided late last year to impose import quotas and duties after the bloc's internal market was flooded with cheap imports, mainly from Russia and Ukraine.
Moscow is threatening to retaliate with import duties and quotas of its own on meat imports, most of which come from Europe.
European Agriculture Commissioner Franz Fischler said after meeting with Gordeyev later Friday that Brussels is ready to offer Moscow a deal for exclusive import rights but will not alter the size of the bloc's already agreed annual quota.
Fischler said the EU could award Moscow a special allocation within an overall quota agreed late last year for imports of medium- and low-quality wheat.
"We are prepared in principle to agree a country quota with Russia," Fischler said.
"The overall [2.98 million ton] limit will not change," he said, referring to the EU's tariff quota system for grain imports that entered into force Jan. 1. Some market observers had speculated that Moscow was holding out for an exclusive grain deal outside, not within, the overall quota.
"The size of the Russian quota was not discussed today -- the experts will now have to talk about this," Fischler said.
Asked if Russia was prepared to negotiate about its planned import restrictions on meat in return for an EU grain import quota, Gordeyev said: "I do not think that these proposed exchanges have much to do with each other."
That statement was contradicted, however, by one of Gordeyev's own deputies, who said that by slapping restrictions on meat imports, Brussels will be forced to relax its grain stance.
"I believe that the introduction by us of [these] measures will make our partners adopt a more flexible approach," said Pavel Vintovkin, acting head of the ministry's food market regulation department.
He added that Russia may introduce restrictions on meat imports "shortly" but did not specify when.
(MT, Reuters)