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Estonians anxious to deal with Russian sanctions

13 August 2014 03:22 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. Estonian government officials and farm producers gathered in Tallinn Tuesday to focusing on plans and measures to deal with the Russian conter-sanctions before the European Union ministerial level meeting scheduled on Wednesday, APA reports quoting XInhua.

They concentrated on finding new markets and working with banks to secure more favorable terms for dairy farm investors as Estonian Agriculture Ministry, saying that the European Union (EU) is unlikely to decide support for sectors hit by Russian sanctions before September, the Estonian Public Broadcasting (ERR) reported.

Agriculture Minister Ivari Padar said after meetings with lobby groups Tuesday that the sanctions were a political conflict between the EU and Russia, and a united front would have to be agreed on the EU ministerial level.

But domestic efforts will also be at center stage for now, with ministries pledging to work with banks to institute grace periods for dairy farm investors and possibly to roll out more export subsidies in the 2015 state budget, Padar said.

Farmers and milk producers expressed their expectation on Estonian government's decisive action, including more direct subsidies and government intervention on milk prices.

Earlier Tuesday, Padar told ERR radio in a morning interview that it would take at least one month for the government to decide on support for farmers and food industry.

Before that happens, Padar said, Estonian banks should be lenient toward Estonian investors who have built major new dairy farms using loan capital.

Estonian dairy farmers expressed that effects from the Russian conter-sanction on them have been dramatic and immediate. For example, instead of four milk trucks, a Lithuanian milk processing company sent only two to a Tartu milk farm. And instead of 3.3 euros, the plant paid producer only 1.8 euros per litter.

Jaan Sorra, a Tartu County farmers union leader, said the government should provide subsidies and push the EU to intervene and buy up milk.

Sorra said direct subsidies to farmers would decrease as much as 40 percent in the year ahead. "If you add in now the price drops, for meat, milk and grain, I can't imagine how the agriculture sector will survive."

Estonian National Dairy Association head Jaanus Murakas also said rapid intervention was necessary.

"An intervention price hasn't been used for long years, as so the prices are out of date. The intervention price would guarantee farmers only half of the cost price of producing milk," he said.

Russia announced on Thursday last week it will ban fruit, vegetables, meat, fish, milk and dairy imports from the United States, the EU, Australia, Canada and Norway. The measures were taken in retaliation for the western sanctions against Moscow over the Ukraine crisis.