Over 20 Exporters to Meet Partners at REC's Business Mission for Agribusiness Companies in EU

Moscow (Sputnik) – The Russian Export Centre will offer 21 Russian participants the opportunity to meet potential EU partners in an online format during an international business mission of agribusiness companies to the EU, set to run until 30 October 2021.

At the opening ceremony of the international business mission on 4 October 2021, participants discussed financial instruments to support agribusiness manufacturers, as well as existing export opportunities within the EU market. Industry leaders participating in the business mission presented their best cases and successful export practices.

“In the face of the pandemic, online international business missions have become as traditional as offline exhibitions,” Dmitry Prokhorenko, Director for Foreign Network Development of REC JSC, stated in his address.

Furthermore, he spoke about the non-financial support measures provided by the REC, namely the comprehensive promotion of exporters in cooperation with the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation and the partnership network.

Denis Kazannikov, Project Manager for Export Support of Agroindustrial Complex of the Russian Export Centre JSC, stressed the priority of increasing exports of agribusiness products to the EU.

“At present, Russian producers are the leaders, along with companies from China and Turkey, in supplying these products to European countries. For example, there is particularly successful cooperation with countries that have a well-developed logistics infrastructure, such as Latvia, the Netherlands, and Germany,” he said.

Andrey Sobolev, Trade Representative of the Russian Federation in the Federal Republic of Germany, also emphasised the increase of 2.6% in Germany's agribusiness imports in 2020, amounting to 84 billion euros, despite the pandemic-related restrictions. At the same time, Russia supplied more than 386 million euros in this category of goods. Nevertheless, despite the positive trends, the German market is characterised by a high level of competition and conservatism. According to him, the most important criterion for food suppliers and retail chains is the quality-price ratio of the foreign producer. “The process of securing a sustainable position in the market takes at least 4-5 years,” he said.

Dmitry Bulatov, President of the National Union of Food Exporters (Russia), discussed the possibilities of the exporters' association. The event was also addressed by Alexander Smirnov, Brand Manager for Spirits of Dovgan GmbH (Germany); Ekaterina Surushkina, General Manager, Tosno Mixed Feed Factory; Nikita Ivantsov, Head of Export to Europe, America and MENA at Makfa JSC; Pavel Semernya, Foreign Trade Manager at the European branch of Belyov Confectionery Company LLC.

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Russian Export Centre (REC, part of VEB.RF) JSC is a state export support institution that consolidates a group of companies providing Russian exporters with a wide range of financial and non-financial support measures. The Russian Agency for Export Credit and Investment Insurance (EXIAR JSC), Roseximbank JSC and REC Export School are integrated into the REC Group, thus ensuring that the product package meets the needs of exporters of various profiles at all stages of the export cycle – starting from the idea to securing payment for exported goods and services.