“We need to remove these sticks from the wheels – duties”

In the 2022/23 agricultural season, Russian farmers managed to harvest a record grain harvest of 157.7 million tons, of which 104.2 million were wheat. Together with export duties effective from 2021, this led to a drop in the cost of grains in the domestic market: for example, wheat at the end of March 2023 was 30–40% cheaper than a year ago. Such prices, as well as rising costs, have a negative impact on the profitability of crop growers. The President of the Russian Grain Union, Arkady Zlochevsky, in an interview with Vedomosti, told whether the Ministry of Agriculture supports farmers, how to correct the situation on the domestic market, and who benefited from the extension of the grain deal.