Business Watch
Exports by Minsk Tractor Works (MTZ ) soared 53.3% in 2011 compared with the same time last year to make up $983 million. The company delivered 51,680 items of equipment overseas, says the company’s marketing center.
“Russia remains MTZ major foreign market. Deliveries to this country last year increased 1.6 times as compared with 2010. The Russian Federation purchased 25,423 tractors. Ukraine is MTZ second largest partner. In 2011 this country bought 7,047 tractors “Belarus”,” the MTZ marketing center stressed.
The Russia-Belarus-Kazakhstan Customs Union has lowered the amount of pork and poultry meat that will be imported into Russia this year. However, while total volumes of pork and poultry are lowered for Russia, volumes of pork and beef have been increased for Kazakhstan and remain unchanged for Belarus.
Floods in Thailand add further uncertainty. Food crisis in the Horn of Africa continues
Global food prices remain high and volatile, hitting the poorest countries hardest and adding to the strains facing the global economy, according to the World Bank Group’s new Food Price Watch released ahead of the G-20 Summit in Cannes, France. While the Bank’s food price index has dropped 5 percent from its February 2011 peak and dipped marginally in September by one percent, it remains 19 percent above its September 2010 levels.
“The food crisis is far from over,” said World Bank Group President Robert B. Zoellick, who has urged the G-20 to put food first. “Prices remain volatile and millions of people around the world are still suffering. The World Bank has been working closely with the French Presidency of the G-20 and our partner international organizations on actions to protect the most vulnerable from the dangers of food price volatility, while also addressing some of its root causes. Let's remember, averting crisis is not just about banks and debt. Millions of people around the world face a daily crisis of hunger and malnutrition. At Cannes, the G-20 can and should take steps to address their needs."
Greg Page, the head of Global agribusiness giant Cargill, believes Russia and Ukraine could play a bigger role in meeting global demand for food. If the two countries lifted export restrictions and were more open to foreign investment in agriculture they could boost crop production. Page was speaking to the Finanvcial Times during a visit to Kiev. Russia is due to lift an 11-month ban on grain exports on Friday July 1.
By Ivan Anderzhanov
www.emergingmarkets.me
Investment banks VTB Capital and Goldman Sachs are advising potash producer Uralkali on its $23bn merger with rival Silvinit in one of the biggest deals in Russian history.