Opening the conference, Viktor Zubkov said, in part:

"Today we will discuss with our regions the organisation of shipments of agricultural products within the country and for export.

"The majority of the country's regions have already completed harvesting their crops. This year, the situation is favourable with almost all kinds of agricultural products. The gross grain harvest is expected to reach 90-92 million tonnes. Some crops are projected to yield a record high harvest: more than 40 million tonnes of sugar beet, more than 8 million tonnes of sunflower, more than 6 million tonnes of corn and 1.4 million tonnes of soy beans.

"With these figures, we can confidently say that we have overcome the consequences of last year's drought.

"Our main goal now is to ensure the efficient use of the harvested crops. Given the existing regional imbalance between agricultural production and consumption, there is an excess of agricultural products in some regions of Russia.

"The bulk of surplus grain exists in the South and North Caucasian federal districts, and also in the Siberian and Ural districts.

"In considering requests by regional governors, the Government has quickly decided to set discount rates for railway shipments of grain, both for export and within the country. Let me recall that the rate of grain shipments has been reduced by half. This goes for shipments within the country from Siberia, for export from Siberia and the Kurgan Region, and for shipments of soy and soybean oil meal from the Far East to central regions of the country.

"These measures will help ensure equal competitive opportunities for all grain producers, preserve the necessary profitability of grain production and incentives for expanding crop areas in these regions.

"In order to take full advantage of discounted railway shipments, it is necessary to improve interaction between all players on the market: the federal and regional authorities, railway companies, cargo shippers and receivers.

"At the same time, access to railway infrastructure should be provided both to major agricultural holding companies and traders and to small businesses. This is true for shipments not only of grain, but also of sugar beet, potato, fruit and vegetables.

"In the next few months, the movement of this produce will increase in intensity. With this in mind, I ask the Ministry of Agriculture, in conjunction with shipping companies, to take all the necessary steps in order to fully meet the demand of agricultural producers for rolling stock, to work out and, if necessary, to reconsider daily schedules for the supply and return of cars, and to ensure regular and uninterrupted cargo shipments.

"For the most intensive period of shipments, I ask the Federal Anti-Trust Service to monitor and immediately respond to cases of an unjustified increase in shipment fees.

"Today, we will also consider the progress of the working group on the organisation of grain deliveries, which was set up by the Ministry of Agriculture in September on the request of the Russian government. It is necessary to pay special attention to the coordination of work on shipments of agricultural produce by all types of transport on the domestic market. This proceeds from inter-regional balances on major groups of food products, and from the forecasted intensity of the movement of grain for export and for grain consuming regions, above all for the milling industry and for animal breeding."

During the meeting, Zubkov asked the Ministry of Transport, along with the Ministry of Agriculture and shipping companies, to take additional measures to provide rolling stock for shipments of agricultural produce, both for export and within the country, and to report daily on the results to the government.

He also urged regional governors to adjust their work to monitor the loading and unloading of cargo. "I will personally watch how the norms are met for loading and unloading cars; the less time is spent on this, the more cars will be supplied," Zubkov said. "The work of regions that do not meet these requirements will be discussed separately at future phone conferences." He was referring to both regions-dispatchers and regions-recipients of cargo, he added. "They exist in equal measure, and both need to be responsible for efficiently organised work," he explained.

Zubkov also asked the Ministry of Transport to supervise in particular the situation with shipping sugar beet, sugar and flour from the Kursk Region.

If we can ensure the proper shipment and processing of sugar beet, Russia may be able to give up raw sugar imports this year, the first prime minister said.

"In two weeks, we will hold a phone conference on this issue in the same hall and with the same participants. We will discuss the progress of the tasks assigned at today's meeting," Zubkov concluded.

Participants of the meeting included representatives of ministries and agencies, shipment companies, banks and governors of 20 Russian regions.