Stavropol | Reuters –– Russia’s government is looking into introducing duties on exports of mineral fertilizers to make them more affordable for the country’s farmers, President Vladimir Putin said Monday.
Meeting his loyalists from the pro-Kremlin public movement, the All-Russia People’s Front, Putin heard compalints from a farmer saying that massive exports of mineral fertilizers meant Russia’s agricultural producers were forced to buy pricey fertilizers for hard currency.
“As for such a measure as raising export customs duties, yes, it is one of the solutions, and it is also being studied now,” Putin said during a visit to the region of Stavropol in southern Russia.
“But according to the estimates by the agriculture ministry and the industry ministry, it may not lead to the desired result.”
— Reporting for Reuters by Denis Pinchuk, writing by Dmitry Solovyov.
