Today Tashkent hosted the 7th Meeting of Ministers of Agriculture of the Member States of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. Russia was represented at the event by Deputy Minister of Agriculture Sergei Levin.
According to him, the SCO member states are key participants in the global agricultural market. Russia has been a net food exporter for the past two years and is a leader in the supply of wheat, barley, vegetable oils, fish and seafood. In 2021, more than 160 countries of the world purchased domestic products. This year, good results are expected in agricultural production, which will continue to make a significant contribution to addressing global food security issues.
The SCO countries are Russia’s key trading partners – over the past years, the turnover of agricultural products has been growing steadily. So, for six months it increased by almost 17%. As Sergei Levin noted, in order to further increase the volume of mutual trade, it is necessary to continue work on opening access to markets and lifting various kinds of restrictions.
In addition, on the sidelines of the event, the Deputy Minister visited the Sunny Uzbekistan fair, where he examined a wide range of local fruit and vegetable and wine products.