Today the senator in the Federation Council from the Representative Assembly of the Astrakhan Region, Gennady Gorbunov, has visited the studio of 'Vestnik Kavkaza'.
He spoke about the most pressing problems of Russian agriculture and import substitution in the industry, and also about the associations of the Astrakhan region with the Caspian states.
"I think we cannot prevaricate and say that there is no interaction with the Caspian states. Our Astrakhan region works very closely with Iran and Azerbaijan, and other countries, there are not any problems in our relationships. For example, there is the Alley of Heydar Aliyev, ancient Persian and Iranian yards in Astrakhan. The Astrakhan region is in the south of Russia, it has a population of more than 100 nations and nationalities, and, thank God, everything is going without incident. Astrakhan has always been hospitable and friendly, so in cooperation with the Caspian states there are no problems," Gorbunov stressed. He said that now the region is working to fill the capacity of the Caspian port of Olya.
"The port is now experiencing difficulties in connection with the sanctions against Iran. In this regard, negotiations are under way, and if the problem is resolved, it will work at full capacity. We already have cargo, the port is in demand, so we look forward with hope to the moment when all the terminals will work. Once again, we are working very closely with the Caspian states, we have their representations and consulates in the Astrakhan region, so close cooperation is maintained and at this level," the senator said.
According to him, one of the problems which now connects Caspian states is the reduction of the number of sturgeon. "The Azerbaijanis have sounded the alarm for a long time in this regard. If my memory serves me correctly, 8 years ago I was the initiator of the law banning the commercial fishing of sturgeon, and only with the help of Vladimir Putin was it adopted - a direct order was given. However, it didn't solve the problem of adding to and replacing the sturgeon population. Now the fish are caught by poachers, not in the Volga and other rivers and channels, but directly in the sea. It is difficult to deal with them, but the struggle continues, border guards and the coastguard are working in this direction," Gennady Gorbunov said.
Speaking of the success of the Astrakhan region in exports, the Senator noted that today the region is not only ready to provide itself with most products, but also it is able to offer much to the Russian markets. "We produce 1000-1200 tons of vegetable and melon products, provide ourself with potatoes and give it to the Russian markets, the same with onions, peppers, tomatoes. Recently, Agriculture Minister Nikolai Fyodorov has been in Sakhalin and saw an onion, he was told that it was from Astrakhan. It's nice to hear, because earlier only watermelons and tomatoes were 'from Astrakhan'. However, we need to control and protect our market properly. The Russian market is very receptive, and we are ready to give it to friends, but only for high-quality products, which they produced themselves," the senator pointed our.
He also said that import substitution implies not only its own production, but also a reorientation to other suppliers. There is a possibility with the Crimea, where there are more sunny days, to redirect and distribute the work, so there will be the main Russian gardens and greenhouses, so we could be producing our products of problematic items - winter vegetables and fruits. Import substitution also means the search for new exporting countries. I need to mention Turkey, which is ready to fill those niches. Our population is ready to buy even more expensive products, as long as they are of high quality," Gennady Gorbunov said.
