"The Agriculture Ministry estimates this year's sugar beet harvest at 40 million tonnes up 80% and 60% from the respective 2010 and 2009 levels," Mr Zubkov said in his opening remarks.

"Our primary goal is to use this large harvest wisely: to boost domestic sugar production, to replace imports and to develop the export potential," he said.

The official also said that a balanced sugar market is only possible if we carefully plan and forecast sugar beet production and processing levels. He specifically mentioned the need for long-term contracts between sugar beet producers and processing plants.

In his words, "this should assure the stable growth of agribusinesses as well as of sugar producers, consequently improving the retail market to the benefit of the consumer."

During the discussion, executives from the sugar industry confirmed that Russian farms produce enough sugar beets to manufacture the required amount of sugar for domestic consumption. They said there was no need to import raw sugar this season, and praised the government's latest customs and tariff policies which prodded the sector's growth.

The governors of the Ryazan and Tambov regions, Oleg Kovalyov and Oleg Betin, also present at the meeting, said they intended to further augment their regions' sugar beet processing capacity.

The participants also discussed important issues affecting the sugar market including customs regulations, the transport and logistics infrastructure, and incentives for the introduction of modern technology for sugar beet storage.