Measures and costs: farmers ask to cancel export duties on grain

The farming community has taken the initiative to ease working conditions in the industry. In particular, farmers propose to abolish export duties on grain, legumes and oilseeds, introduce a moratorium on bankruptcy in the areas bordering their zone, as well as take a number of additional support measures. The relevant resolution was sent by the Association of Peasant (Farmer) Farms and Cooperatives (from 65 regions) to the Cabinet of Ministers, the Ministry of Agriculture, the State Duma and the Federation Council, as well as to the leadership of United Russia. Today, small farms account for 64% of all acreage, while the working conditions for farmers are deteriorating every year. Whether the authorities will support the initiative is in the Izvestia article.

Why did the farmers decide to ask the Cabinet for help

Russia is proposing to abolish export duties on cereals, legumes and oilseeds. As Izvestia found out, such an initiative was made by the Association of Peasant (Farmer) Farms and Agricultural Cooperatives of Russia (AKKOR) following the results of the spring congress of agrarians. The agrarians sent the relevant resolution to the government, parliament and the Ministry of Agriculture (Izvestia has it).

In it, they report on the important role of farmers, agricultural cooperatives, as well as citizens with personal households in ensuring the country's food security. According to them, this is confirmed by Rosstat data, according to which small farms account for 64% of the country's total acreage. By the end of 2025, they also provided about 58% of the grain harvest, 72% of sunflowers, 81% of vegetables and 83% of potatoes. They also produce 54% of milk and 70% of cattle meat.

Despite the significant contribution of the sector to solving food problems and rural development, the organization notes that the economic conditions for farmers to work in Russia are deteriorating every year.

"This concerns the financial and economic situation, the disparity in prices, the reduction in profitability, and the strict administration of processes through information systems. Today, all existing processes regulating production and sales are configured for major market players. Small businesses are not isolated in a way that requires specific public administration and regulation," the document emphasizes.

Heavy codes: farmers asked the Ministry of Industry and Trade to cancel labeling of their products

Why do agricultural producers suffer losses due to the identification of their goods

At the same time, the organization recognizes that certain decisions are being made to support small forms of agribusiness, but this is not enough for the stable operation of the small sector of the agricultural economy. In this regard, farmers are asking to solve the systemic problems of the industry — this, in their opinion, will increase production and preserve rural areas.

"One of the key issues for us is the abolition of export duties, as their introduction has significantly affected the reduction of purchase prices for grain crops in the domestic market and, consequently, reduced the profitability of agricultural producers," Olga Bashmachnikova, Vice President of AKKOR, explained to Izvestia. — The Ministry of Agriculture explains that duties help replenish the agricultural budget, but minimal amounts are used to compensate crop growers, which do not compensate for losses in any way. Therefore, farmers say: why are you taking money from us, so that you can somehow return it in the form of subsidies, but this is an illusion, in reality there is no effective compensation.

According to her, other problems are also relevant — for example, farms stop working only because they do not pull the maintenance of digital services, which are designed to increase control, but, in fact, create a bureaucratic burden that is unbearable for small family farms.

The document contains 17 proposals in total. In particular, farmers are asking to set special tariffs and prices for electricity, water, gas, diesel fuel, fertilizers on the domestic market or to compensate farmers for rising prices for production resources. They also propose to change the formation of the cost of paperwork, VET certificates, etc., setting it depending on the volume of the batch of goods (the smaller, the lower).

In addition, the document proposes to provide federal support for peasant (farm) farms (farms) that find themselves in a regional emergency zone. According to AKKOR, one of these measures may be the prolongation of obligations under loan agreements and leasing agreements. Such subjects include, for example, the Novosibirsk region, where an emergency situation was declared this year due to outbreaks of pasteurellosis and rabies in livestock.

In addition, farmers propose to conduct an audit of veterinary regulations, which, when carrying out measures to prevent the spread and eliminate foci of dangerous diseases, should take into account existing effective experience.

In addition, AKKOR considers it necessary to exempt small farms from the "Fair Sign" label if they sell products through their own outlets, as well as at fairs and markets. The document also proposes to introduce a moratorium on the initiation of bankruptcy cases in border areas in relation to farms located in border areas and affected by the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

To work out these issues, farmers propose to create specialized working groups in the Ministry of Agriculture with the participation of relevant industry players.

The ministry told Izvestia that AKKOR's appeal had been received and would be considered in due course. The editorial board also sent a request to the government's press service with a request to comment on the prospects for supporting the initiative.

There was also a herd: the damage to farmers from the slaughter of livestock for the month was estimated at 1.5 billion

Animals had to be disposed of not only because of pasteurellosis, but rabies, plague and other dangerous infections became the causes in different regions.

Will the authorities support the measures proposed by farmers

The problems of the agricultural sector are also recognized in other industry associations. For example, the People's Farmer Association has prepared an appeal addressed to the head of the Ministry of Economic Development, Maxim Reshetnikov, with a proposal to introduce a moratorium on bankruptcy for farmers working in an emergency situation, as well as in cases where their activities have been suspended or complicated by the introduction of a counter-terrorism operation. Additionally, the association believes that the emergency regime should become the basis for suspending the accrual of rent for land plots, as well as interest on loans, loans and leasing agreements.

"In 2025, an emergency regime due to drought was officially introduced in a number of districts of the Krasnodar Territory and the Rostov Region," Konstantin Yurov, deputy chairman of the association, explained in a conversation with Izvestia.

According to him, in the Kursk, Bryansk and Belgorod regions, farmers whose enterprises were located in the frontline zone temporarily lost the opportunity to operate. In some cases, creditors initiated bankruptcy proceedings, although it was an objective impossibility to service debts through no fault of the manufacturers, the industry representative noted.

Experts assess the government's support for the proposed measures ambiguously.

— Russian grain is in demand all over the world, of course, it needs to be sold abroad, otherwise producers will have problems. On the other hand, our country consumes about 88 million tons of grain, and if it is transported, there will be problems on the domestic market," said Leonid Kholod, ex-Deputy Minister of Agriculture.

According to him, based on the current global economic situation, it will be difficult to predict the development of events if duties and export quotas are abolished. Initially, the interests of Russian consumers should be taken into account, the expert is convinced.

At the same time, the initiative to abolish labeling of agricultural products, in his opinion, deserves attention, since it is difficult for small farmers to meet these requirements, unlike large farms. He also considers the introduction of a moratorium on bankruptcy justified, since the farmer may lose his business due to circumstances beyond his control.

The Cabinet of Ministers is unlikely to agree with the abolition of export duties, the introduction of which was aimed at increasing federal budget revenues, says Georgy Ostapkovich, research director at the HSE Center for Market Research. At the same time, he admitted that the authorities may meet small businesses halfway with other proposals.